


Baby Steps

by saiyah



Series: Evolution of Walking [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Child!Reader - Freeform, Death, Drabble, Fighting, Gen, Growing Up, Growing Up is Hard, Original side characters, Other, Reader has no specific gender, Violence, War, kid!Reader, parenting, reader - Freeform, there is plot now, things are starting to get serious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:49:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 56
Words: 48,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11062173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiyah/pseuds/saiyah
Summary: Jesse just got back from a mission but didn't expect bringing anything back, let alone a child.Overwatch just became one big daycare for one lucky kid.Kid!reader x Multiple (everyone basically)





	1. Seven Months: Welcome Home

How could this have happened. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get in, take out the target then get out. What he didn't expect was the extra baggage he had brought with him back onto the drop ship. Jesse stared down at the swaddled blankets in his arms. There slept a child no older than seven months, peacefully unaware of the danger that they were in. He had forgone his cigar to keep the child out of harm's way from the toxic smoke, and had wrapped his serape around the thin blankets that were around the child. How was he going to explain this to the commander. Reyes was going to kill him, then the baby. Once stepping past the doors of the ship and towards the main meeting area he was met with the other members of the Overwatch team. He saw Gabriel speaking to Jack about how the mission went and what was accomplished while Angela tended to the other agents that had gone out in the field.

"McCree, just the boy I wanted to see." He tipped his head slightly towards the voice that had called out to him. It was Reyes. Shit.

"Ah, Commander. I reckon' I did a pretty fine job out there. Hows 'bout I give you the full report tomorrow. I am feeling a bit tuckered out." Jesse tried to hid the babe by bringing them to his side and leaning on the opposite left while speaking.

Gabriel raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "Boy, what are you talking about. This was one of the easiest missions and you are telling me that made you tired?" Jesse let out a cough when he heard the baby gurgle in their sleep.

"W-well, I haven't been getting proper rest recently..."

Nothing could fool the commander of Blackwatch, "McCree, what are you hiding."

A strangled sound left his throat when the babe in his arms started to stir, "'Aint nothing, sir." He cleared his throat once more and stared at Gabriel who narrowed his eyes with suspicion. Gabriel said nothing and nodded at the cowboy signaling him to leave. Jesse let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and walked past his commanding officer. He was a couple steps away from the exit when a loud wail stopped him in his tracks and made everyone in the room turn towards him.

"Awh, shucks we were so close too." He muttered under his breath. Jesse raised his arms to take a look at the babe who was now wailing in his arms.

"Jesse! Is that a baby in your hands?!" Gabriel shouted, stomping over towards the distressed cowboy. "I knew you were hiding something but not this!" His yelling scared the babe even more making them cry louder. "Someone turn this thing off!"

Angela quickly made her way towards the two men and scooped the child from the cowboys hands, "'Ey! Be careful wit'em!" his cry of protest was ignored when she started rocking the child in her arms and cooing softly. After a couple of seconds the crying stopped and was replaced by happy gurgles.

"Jesse... where did you find this child?" Angela asked softly, not wanting to frighten the child again.

Jesse took his hat off and ran his metal hand through his hair, "Well ya' see..."


	2. Eight Months: Party Pooper

It has been a month. Thirty one days, 744 hours and approximately 44639... make that 44640 seconds. And Jesse was tired, he hasn't felt this tired since he first joined Blackwatch and had to go through all the rigorous training Reyes had put him on. It wasn't only his body that was tired, but his mind as well. He hasn't had a good night's rest since he brought you back from his mission a month ago. After the whole ordeal with everyone finding out that he had brought back a child on the ship Gabriel told him that it was his responsibility to take care of them. Angela had protested and offered to take the child from him and watch over them but something in him declined her offer. He felt that he had a responsibility to the kid to at least change their diapers. I mean... how hard could that be?

He thought wrong, it was really hard. Jesse scrubbed his face tiredly and made his way over to the chair that was besides the makeshift crib by his bed. He stared down at you before taking a seat and letting out a long sigh of relief. He finally had some free time to himself. He thought back to when he had first taken you in.

* * *

 

Angela had checked over you making sure that there was nothing wrong and ushered him off to his room. She also handed him a box of supplies that she said that he might need later on.

Later on? For what? Like a change of clothes, right?

Jesse placed you on the middle of his bed, four pillow surrounding your body to make sure that you were comfortable and that you would not roll off the bed. He grinned to himself, _this is going to be a piece of cake._ He could take care of a kid, no problem. I mean, if he could shoot a man between his eyes from 50 feet away, he can take care of a tiny human. He leaned over and gave you a smile which in return you gurgled and reached your arms towards him, making a grabbing motion.

"Whats that sweet pea? You want 'ol Jesse to pick you up and give you a hug?" his answer was your incoherent bubbling. He scooped you up gently and held you to his chest making small chirps. "Would'ya look at that, looks like I'm a natural at this. This is gonna be a piece of apple pie." You looked up at him and gave him slobbery smile before scrunching your face with discomfort. Jesse blinked and stared at your face curiously. He was starting to get worried when it stayed like that for a couple of seconds before it went back to normal, a happy smiled once again appeared on your face.

"What was that for darlin'?"  Jesse readjusted his grip on your bottom but was met with a soft _squelch._

"Oh, sweet pea, you just..." He kept his hold on you, a disgusted look crossed his face, he could feel the heat from your bum seep onto his hand, mind you it wasn't his metal hand. You looked up at him and frowned, you face slowly starting to become teary eyed from the discomfort of your diaper. Within seconds you started wailing at the cowboy demanding to be changed.

"All right! All right! 'aint nothin' to worry about! I'll get ya cleaned up as fast as I can kill a man!" He started to hastily walk around his room, trying to find something to place you on, in his panicked state it made him blind to the bed that was right in front of him. He had opted to place you ontop his large dresser a hand holding you still while you cried. "All right... now I jus' need something 'ta change with!" He looked around the room frantically before setting his eyes on the box that Angela had given him earlier. Right! She said that it would come in handy later. The only problem was that it was a good three feet away. He couldn't leave you on the dresser or else you would fall without his hand holding you steady. And he was scared if he picked you up again you would cry even louder. So the next best thing he could think of was to use the lasso he kept beside his dresser and try to lasso the damn box towards him. After a few failed attempts he was about to scream. Your crying had become louder and more distressed making him more panicked that he already was. Before he could do anything a sharp knock was at his door making him yell for the person to enter.

Gabriel walked into Jesse's room with a smug grin on his face. "Ah, looks like you're having fun." Jesse glared at his commanding officer.

"Did 'ya come here to mock me or help?!" He said loudly, causing you to cry even louder scared at sudden volume increase of his voice. That only made Reyes smirk even more. Before he could retort back he was shoved out of the way by Angela.

"Honestly, you two want to start a fight while this child is crying! Out of the way!" She walked towards Jesse and tutted when she saw where he had placed you. Slapping his hand that was holding you out of the way she carried you in her arms and placed you onto the bed where Jesse had made a spot for you earlier. She then glided over towards the box pulling out some things and made her way back. She gave Jesse a look, "Watch and learn. I will do this for you this time but you need to learn how to do it yourself." Angela swiftly unbuttoned the onsie that you were wearing and un-did the sides of your diaper. She lifted both of your legs with one hand while the other took away the soiled diaper. Grabbing a baby wipe she wiped your bum clean and dusted some baby power before sliding a new diaper under you. With a hum she strapped the sides of the diaper and lifted you to give you a kiss on the nose. "There's a good baby~ You did so well for me!" You gurgled and tugged at her hair. Jesse stared at the medic with wide eyes. He was supposed to do that? Like all the time? He couldn't even hold onto the dirty diaper that Angela had tossed to him during the process.

It smelled like death.

Reyes snorted at Jesse's face, "Looks like got more than you bargained for huh McCree?"

"Oh hush you." Angela walked over to Gabriel and placed you in his arms. He grunted with surprise and held you awkwardly. "Hey, don't give me this thing!"

"It's not a _thing_ it's a human being." Angela huffed and made her way towards the door, "If you ever need any help Jesse you are free to call for me. I am always willing to teach if you are willing to learn." With that she stepped out and the door slid shut. This left Jesse holding on to the dirty diaper, still in shock and thinking about having to change diapers every time and an awkward Gabriel holding you in his arms.

You gurgled and grabbed at Gabriel's face causing him to flinch, "Hey kid, hands off the merchandise." You gave him a slobbery wail before pulling off the beanie that was on his head. "Hey! How did you manage to get that you sneak!"

* * *

 

Here he was now, a month later and a pro at changing your diapers. It wasn't easy, you gave him a hard time for the first few weeks. Let's just say he had to have a towel nearby if you decided to be sneaky and pee either on his bed or on him. He closed his eyes getting ready to take a short nap while he could but was woken when he heard you shift and make a noise. He took a deep breath in and stood so that he could see you lying in the crib. You blinked and stared up at the cowboy with a curious smile before reaching your arms out in a grabbing motion towards him.

"All right darlin' Jesse's gotcha."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bloop doop! Hope you all enjoyed!  
> I'll try and get some more characters in the next chapter!  
> Not sure how the chapters are going to go.  
> Not sure if I want to do a linear type of thing where the Reader ages onward or hop from one age to another.  
> Eh, Ill figure it out later!  
> Thanks for everyone who read!  
> Lemme know what you think!  
> Till next time!  
> See yah!


	3. Nine Months: Crawling

"What do you mean you lost them!?" Angela's voice rang throughout the med bay, her face became exasperated then  worried. "Jesse, how on earth could you have lost the child?!" Jesse rubbed his neck with guilt and gave a small shrug.

"I was watching over them in my room. I then took them to the common area so get a change of scenery, 'yknow... They were doing just fine, playing with the blocks on the floor. I turn my back for a few seconds to grab a towel to wipe the slobber from their face and then _poof,_ their gone!" Jesse swung his arms in front of him in exaggeration, "You gotta help me Angie! I don't have a clue where they could be!" Angela sighed once again pinched the bridge of her nose. She was already busy with training the new nurses and had to catch up on paperwork, now this.

"I'll contact Gabriel and the others to keep an eye out for the child." She placed the clipboard that she was holding on the table besides her and gave Jesse a stern look. "I will assist you in finding the child." walking briskly past the worried cowboy she motioned with her head for him to follow, "I'm sure they would have not gotten far." Jesse gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks Angie, but there's something you should know. They have been crawling a lot recently. And the little scamp is pretty darn quick."

"Then we must make haste." The pair leave the med bay in search of the child.

* * *

 

Meanwhile you were having the time of your life. There were so many new things to see. You didn't understand, but you knew that when the man wearing the funny hat took you out of the room; it gave you the chance to stretch your legs per say. You shuffle along the floor on your hands and knees, head swinging left and right taking in the different shapes and colors. It was a surprise that no one had passed you in the halls, because usually when you came out and were in the arms of the cowboy you see at least a couple of people pass by. Delightful gurgles left our lips as slobber dripped to the floor, leaving a trail of where you have been. You don't know how far you have traveled, being a baby and all but something caught your attention when you saw a flicker of lights come from a room. Deeming that something of interest you veered left and made your way into the room. You crawled past many monitors of various sizes and tried to avoid the wires that were scattered over the floor. Being a baby you got caught in some causing you to let out a small cry which caught the attention of the occupant in the room.

A soft hum left their lips and heavy shuffling was heard making its way towards you.

"What's this?" You were too busy tugging at the wires to see who had come in front of you. "Child, what are you doing in here." Large hands expertly untangled your legs from the wires and picked you up. You looked up to see a furry face giving you a look of curiosity.

"Arbagh!" incoherent words left your mouth when you saw the large gorilla. Whines started to leave from your lips, scared by the unknown furry monster that was holding you.

Winston blinked when he saw tears starting to prick at the corner of your eyes. Not being an expert with children, let alone babies he held you arms length away not sure what to do. "Um, please don't cry? Do you want a banana?" Your sniffles became louder as a high pitch sound escaped your throat.

"Uh! Uh! Look at this!" He hopped over to where the screens were and pointed to one that showed a city. You looked to where he was pointing and sniffed loudly your face starting to scrunch up. Winston started to panic, he didn't want to deal with a crying child. He looked around the room to find something that he can entertain you with and saw a small ball that he had kept from years ago stashed at the top corner of the room. He shifted his grip on you and held you to his chest as he jumped high up onto one of the fixtures causing you to yelp with surprise.

After landing Winston realized what he had done and took a look at you, worried that he may have frightened you even more. But to his surprise he saw your smiling face beaming at him.

"Do you like that...?" he asked you with hesitation in his voice.

You gave him a happy chirp and tugged at his fur as if telling him to do it again. Winston jumped down from his spot to another fixture that was across from him. Again a sound of joy left your lips, "I guess you like jumping from one place to another, huh?" He continued to jump around  his office a couple more times before he saw your eyes starting to get droopy, holding you gently in his arms and started to gently rock you back and forth. In no time you had fallen asleep. He too started to feel tired from interacting with you and decided a that nap was in order. He slowly made his way towards one of the chairs in the room and took a seat, placing you on his chest while using one of his hands to keep you steady. The flashing on the screen went unnoticed to him and the message that Angela had sent him was left unread.

* * *

 

"Shit shit shit shit shit..." Jesse had been looking for you for the past hour and a half and had no luck. He had gotten Reinhardt and Lena to help search for you and some of the trainees around the base but had gotten no word back. Angela gave the distressed cowboy a sympathetic look, he had forgone his hat and had been running his hands though his hair so many times that it was now knotted and messy. Jesse's eyes looked bloodshot as if he was trying to stop himself from crying.

"Don't worry Jesse, we will find them. Let's stop by Winston and see if he has seen the child. He hasn't responded to my message and might be asleep." Jesse nodded mutely and followed her like a lost puppy. The two made it to the gorillas room and Angela let out a soft gasp of surprise catching Jesse's attention.

"What is it Angela?! It is something bad? DID WINSTON EAT THEM!" Jesse pushed her shoulder slightly to step into the room but was stopped when she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small _sush._ Jesse blinked and looked to where Angela was pointing to see you sleeping on the gorillas chest. Both you and Winston let out soft snores which made the cowboys stress lessen greatly. He let out a long sigh of relief when he saw that you were safe and sleeping. Angela gave Jesse a knowing smile before ushering him out of the room saying to let the two of you rest and assured Jesse that Winston would give you back after their nap was over.

Jesse let out a tired groan which made Angela smile once more, "I swear I lost at least five years of my life..." Angela laughed softly, patting Jesse on the back.

"Wait until they get older." Jesse's face paled at the thought of you walking around and running away from him, making it even harder for him to find you.

"I need a nap."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you! To all who had read this chapter!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Ill see you it the next one!


	4. Ten Months: What's In A Name

Jesse was in the cafeteria eating his lunch with you. You comfortably sat in a booster seat that Angela had bought for you and chewed the slop that the cowboy was putting in your mouth.

"Jesse!" before he could blink Lena was at his side as she cooed at you. You gave her an uninterested look and turned back to Jesse that was holding up a spoonful of mashed peas. "They are so adorable!!"

"Thank 'ya kindly." He placed the spoon in your mouth which you greatly accepted. He wiped the excess that had fallen at the sides of your mouth with the plastic spoon and scooped some more from the small container. A hearty laugh was heard followed by loud stomping.

"My friend! Is this your child!" Reinhardt sat next to the cowboy making the bench lift up  bit from his weight. "What a beautiful baby!" Jesse smiled at the man and nodded.

"Jesse they are so well behaved!" Lena blinked around the child left and right, making funny faces at you. "Oh! Oh! Can I try feeding them! I've never done that before!"

Jesse nodded and handed the spoon and jar to her, "If 'ya want, but let me warn you, they might not eat it the first time. It took me a while for them not to spit it back at me." He moved so that Lena could sit in front of you.

"No worries love!" She held the spoon to your lips and let out a soft hum, "Say 'ahh!' darling!" You obediently opened your mouth and gave her a hum of thanks. Jesse stared at you with shock. "Would'ya look at that! I think they likes me Jesse!" Jesse mumbled under his breath, beginners luck. Lena continued to feed you while Reinhardt asked Jesse about how he was fairing while taking care of you.

"I haven't been on any missions for two months just to take care of this'ol scamp. I think Reyes is letting me to get used to this raising a kid thing." he leaned back on the table that was behind him, "He thinks that I can't handle it, I swear he wants me to fail." Reinhardt told Jesse that raising a kid was no easy task and started to talk about how Torbjörn's children were already a handful to look after. After a couple minutes Lena was finished feeding you and gently wiped the remaining food from your face which made you gurgle with appreciation.

"By the way Jesse, what's the little tykes name?"

"Name?"

Lena nodded and held out her finger towards you making you grab it to play with. Jesse hummed in thought, "I never really thought if it, I've been so busy taking care of the kid the thought never crossed my mind."

"Are you kidding me!" Lena slapped Jesse lightly on the shoulder, "What have you been calling them all this time?"

"Sweet pea, sugar dumplin', darlin', honey bee..." Jesse trailed off starting to feel embarrassed with the pet names that he has given you. Lena frowned at him.

"The babe needs a name Jesse! How 'bout Reinhardt and I help 'ya!" Jesse shrugged and nodded.

"I'm open for anything as long as this little rascal likes it."

Lena giggled with glee as she looked over to you who was sat and watched the three of them patiently, as if you knew what they were talking about.

"Oh! I've got one! How about Alex!" Lena looked to you for approval which you gave her a blank look and looked at Jesse who raised an eyebrow. "No? okay..."

"Noel?" you grumble.

"Charlie?" some spittle.

"Wynne?" a grunt.

After about fifty names later the three had no luck. You had gotten bored after the thirtieth one and found the dried baby food  the table you had earlier more interesting. Lena let out a frustrated sigh, "We don't know what to call you love! I wish you could talk so you could just tell us!" You gave the brown haired girl a blink before slapping the table in front of you as if to try to comfort her. Reinhardt laughed at your antics and agreed that it would be easier if you were able to talk. You kept slapping the table with your palms making the two laugh. Jesse watched as you slapped vigorously, you eyes squinting. You weren't trying to be funny you were trying to tell them something. As if something flipped in his mind Jesse let a name tumble from his lips in a soft whisper.

"[Name]..." your slapping stopped and you looked at Jesse quietly. When he didn't say anything you slapped the table again while looking at him. Jesse grunted in surprise, "[Name]." This time he said the name louder catching the attention of his friends who now watched the two of you interact.

"[Name]."

"Arbbragh!"

"[Name]."

A soft whine followed by more slapping, "Ahgh! Ahgh!"

Jesse smiled and reached over you to pick you up from you high chair to bring you in his arms, "So I guess we can start calling you that huh sweet pea?" You knocked your head against his chin while letting out a grunt.

"Sorry darlin', Its gonna take some gettin' used 'ta." he patted your bum softly and hummed,"[Name]... I sure do like 'tha sound of that." Lena and Reinhardt could only smile at the scene that was in front of them.

"Awh Jesse! The two of you are so sweet!"

Jesse flushed when he remembered he wasn't alone, "Shut 'yer mouth Lena! 'Aint nothing to get over excited about!" He tipped his hat down to try and hide the embarrassed flush on his face making the two laugh.


	5. Ten Months: Lullaby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song for the chapter! I recommend playing it when the time comes!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XipVAKPjy70  
> Hope you all enjoy!

After three months Jesse had finally been able to go on a mission. This left him with no choice but to leave you with one of the members back at the base while he was gone. Angela, Reinhardt, Lena and Winston were either accompanying him or out on their own missions which left him with no other choice but to give you to him. He didn't want to drop you with some random trainee because you haven't interacted with any of them, which left him no other option.

There you sat, in the middle of the room where your toys were scattered around the floor. The soft tapping of keys could be heard accompanied with the rustling of papers. You started to grow bored of the toys in front of you and wanted a play mate. Crawling over to the man who sat at the table you grabbed onto his leg and lifted yourself up into a standing position.

"What do you think you are doing kid, don't bother me while I work." a gruff sound left Gabriel's mouth as he shook his leg that you were holding onto, to try and get you to let go. You grumbled and tugged at his pants.

"Kid, stop that."

A whine left you lips, "Argagh!"

"No, to whatever you said or are trying to say." You continued to pester him trying to gain his attention but he opted to ignore you. Seeing that he wouldn't play with you, you decided to explore his room. Crawling to his bed you see two shiny items on top of his dresser. You always loved shiny things, every time you visited Angela with Jesse you saw her wings light up which made you squeal with delight. You grabbed onto the bed sheets to stand and somehow made your way towards the dresser. You grabbed one of the items and held it in your hands. It was heavy, after fiddling with it and flipping some random buttons you pressed down on a switch which was immediately followed by a loud **BANG!** Dropping the item quickly you started to cry from the sudden loud noise.

Gabriel couldn't have been at your side any faster. His heart was beating wildly when he heard the sound of a gunshot come from inside his room. His mind was in overdrive and zoned into where you were, to protect you from any danger if there was any. He saw you crying next to one of his guns. How the _fuck_ did you get a hold of that. He looked at the other gun on the dresser and cursed, he usually left them inside but forgot to store them when McCree dropped you off this morning.

He picked you up and placed both of the weapons in the drawer before staring down at your crying form. Loud wails left your lips as big fat tears spilled from your eyes. He had fucked up, he was lucky that you weren't hurt or worse. He tried rocking you back and forth in his arms but your crying seemed to get louder. He cursed under his breath in Spanish before taking a seat on his bed and started rocking you again. A soft hum leaving his lips as he started to sing.

 

_Arrorró mi niño,_  
_arrorró mi sol,_  
_arrorró pedazo,_  
_de mi corazón._

_Este niño lindo_  
_ya quiere dormir;_  
_háganle la cuna_  
_de rosa y jazmín._

_Háganle la cama_  
_en el toronjil,_  
_y en la cabecera_  
_pónganle un jazmín_  
_que con su fragancia_  
_me lo haga dormir._

He had continued humming the song after you had calmed down and fallen asleep in his arms. His arms didn't stop rocking you until he was sure that you had fallen asleep. Soft hiccups left your mouth as your breathing slowed signaling that you were fast asleep. He let out a sigh of relief and leaned back on the pillows and held you in his arms. He had never been so scared, is this that Jesse felt like when he had lost you that one time? He closed his eyes to get some rest with you, Jesse would not find out about this, or so help him god.

* * *

 

Jesse had arrived back on the base after two weeks. The mission had went well and he was happy to be home. The first thing he did was walk to Gabriel's room so he could pick you up and smother you with kisses and cuddles. He knocked the door and walked in when it slid open. There he saw you playing blocks with Gabriel who would hand you new ones so you could attempt to stack them together.

"I reckon' the two of you played nicely while I was gone?" You turned your head to the familiar voice letting out a sound of joy. You turned your body and started to crawl towards Jesse who scooped you into his arms and grinned. "Hope this'un wasn't a hassle for you. They 'aint given you a hard time?" You tugged at his serape before mashing your face into it breathing in the familiar smell. Gabriel stood and grunted at him.

"Well behaved, nothing more I can say." Jesse looked at his commander silently and stopped himself from asking more questions.

"Thanks again Commander, I owe 'ya one." Jesse nodded and tipped his hat before making his way out of the room. "This new?" he  stopped and stared at the hole that was in the wall near the door. Gabriel grunted again and sat on his chair with a loud _thunk_.

"Get outta my room, McCree."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone that has read, commented, bookmarked and left a kudo!  
> It really means a lot to me and makes me really happy that people are enjoying my small random story!
> 
> Here are the lyrics and translation of the song!  
> http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3362
> 
> Until next time! See you!


	6. Eleven Months: First Steps

"[Name]! You can't touch those!" a young voice shouted from across the common area as rapid sounds of footsteps approached you. A young Fareeha quickly grabbed the sharp fork that was in your hand and  placed it on top of a nearby table. You let out a squawk of protest and gave her an angry look. Fareeha lifted you up as best as she can, being a twelve year old child she didn't have much strength. "Mom, we need to get [Name] some new toys to play with!" Ana laughed at her daughters antics as she sat on a nearby chair holding a book in her hands.

"I see no need of new toys when she has such a nice playmate to play with her." Fareeha blinked at her mother's words before smiling. She  turned her head back to you and leaned down to give you a quick peck on your chubby cheek.

"You here that [Name]? Mom says I'm a great playmate!" she stood at full height and put both her hands other hips. "Being such a great playmate, I'm going to teach you something useful!" You blinked at her and gave her a blubber as an answer.

"Let's get you to walk [Name]!" Fareeha took a couple steps away from you and help out her arms towards you. "Come at me [Name]!" she shouted with excitement. Ana couldn't help but chuckle at her daughters idea of teaching a baby how to walk. She thought that you would just stand up and walk to her with no help. Fareeha stood silently for a couple seconds before tilting her head and looking at you, "[Name]? I said come here!"

You blinked from you spot on the ground and picked at the lint that was on you sweater, "Burhg!" Ana couldn't hold back the laugh that she was trying to keep back making her daughter whip her head to look at her mom in embarrassment.

"Mom! Don't laugh at [Name]! They are trying thier best!" she defended you even though Ana was actually laughing at her.

"My apologies."

Fareeha tried again but opted to crouch down and held her arms in front of her, "Come on [Name]! I know you can do it! I believe in you!"

You sniffed and blinked, slowly processing what she wanted you to do, you've seen Jesse do this before when you were holding onto the side of the bed, he would say some words to you and wave his arms in front of him in attempts to get you to come over. With grunt you placed you hands on the floor below you and slowly pushed yourself up. You were already capable of standing. Jesse had taught you how to and had almost cried when you stood up by yourself.

"That's great [Name]! Now take some steps towards me!"

With encouraging words Fareeha moved her arms in a 'come hither' motion. You shakily took a step, so far so good, but then when you tried to move your other leg you crumpled to the floor.

"Ah [Name]!" Fareeha rushed over to you to see if you were alright. You lay on the floor for a bit thinking of what just happened. When Fareeha went to help you stand back up you let out a sound of protest as if telling her that you could do it on your own. Fareeha gave you a confused looked and turned to look at her mom who gave her a small smile. She walked back to where she was standing before and got into the previous position that she was in. "Don't sweat it [Name], you go this!"

You slowly got back onto your feet and tired again. Ana watched the two children interact together. Her daughter gave you words of encouragement that she knew you could barely understand but it seemed like it was helping you. Fareeha was patient with your learning process and didn't complain a single time when you fell over, as she waited patiently for you to get back up and try again. She watched you fall for the what seemed like the fiftieth try. There were times where she wanted to walk over to you and hold your hand so that you could walk but the look on your face stopped her. For a child that was not yet a year old and has only been with them for about four months, you had a mature look on your face. She had talked to Angela and Reinhardt a few times about you and how your crying stopped after the first month that you were here and that you preferred to sit and watch others that were around you quietly. This didn't escape her eyes when she saw you sit peacefully on Jesse's lap one time they were having dinner. You patiently waited for the cowboy to spoon you food and did not pester him when he took too long.

While you were practicing how to walk by yourself Angela had walked into the room and glided to where Ana was sitting.

"What is going on here?" she asked the sniper. Ana gave her a smile and nodded towards the two children.

"My little Fareeha has taken the responsibility of being a playmate seriously and has decided to teach [Name] how to walk on her own." Angela hummed in understanding. "[Name] is a very resilient child, I can't help but wonder how they will be when they are at the age of my daughter." Angela chuckled lightly.

"I told Jesse the same thing, wait until they get older, I'm not sure how he can handle them." The two were so immersed in their convorsation they didn't hear the shout that came from Fareeha.

"Mom! Did you see that?!" Ana and Angela directed their attention to the pre-teen who was jumping up and down with excitement. Before Ana could ask she saw you standing in front of her daughter with a big smile on your face. "They did it!" she lifted you in her arms and smooched your forehead, "[Name]! You did it! I'm so proud of you!" You let out a high pitched laugh as she swung you in her arms. "Do it again and show Mom and Auntie Mercy!" Placing you down she took a couple steps backwards and smiled, "Come at me, [Name]!" she jabbed a thumb towards her chest proudly. You giggled loudly and with shaky uneven steps walked towards her. Ana smiled as Angela gasped with glee.

"Oh! How wonderful!" Angela clapped her hands as she walked over to you and gave you soft praises. Just then Jesse decided to make his appearance by entering the room. He nodded at Angela and Ana and gave you a curious look. Fareeha smiled at Jesse and patted your head softly.

"Guess what I just taught [Name] to do Jesse!"

"Well, I'm not sure, why dont'cha tell me what you taught 'em darlin'"

Fareeha beamed, "I taught them how to walk  by themselves!" Angela and Ana couldn't help but laugh at the look Jesse was giving Fareeha. It was am mix between shock, joy and sadness.

"What in tarnation!" He glanced over to you who stood silently swaying back and forth to keep balance on your feet, "I missed my babe's first walking experience!?"

* * *

  
EXTRA

Jesse was moping while he was feeding you your dinner at night. After Fareeha had told him that you walked all by yourself he asked you to do it again for him but you decided that you were too tired and sat down and demanded to be held. Ana walked up from behind him and tapped the dejected cowboys shoulder. She wordlessly handed him a holo-pad which he took with confusion. Before he could as what it was Ana had slipped out the door. He looked at you who gave him a blank look and chewed your food softly and turned his attention to the holo-pad in his hands. He saw that it was a video file and pressed play. It was a video that Athena had caught when you had first walked by yourself. He shed proud tears and muttered quiet words of praise to you while giving you a kiss on the head.

You grunted signaling that you wanted more food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to take the time and thanks everyone who read, commented, favourited and left a kudo!  
> I'm super glad that you all enjoy reading my story!  
> I also wanted to clear some things up, this takes place earlier in the time line. So, when Overwatch was still a respected organization and still had Blackwatch. Later on in the chapters I will be getting more into that and also the fall of Overwatch, so you might not see some characters until later.  
> Hope that's okay with y'all!  
> Anyways, thanks again for taking the time to read this story!  
> Until next time!


	7. Twelve Months: Time and a Place for Everything

Lena didn't know what to do. She had been playing with you and things seemed to be going along swimmingly until she mentioned that it was time for you to take a nap. You had started to throw the toys that you were playing with across the room and yelling, clearly throwing a tantrum of not wanting to go to sleep.

Lena was trying to calm you down by saying that you could play for a couple more minutes but that didn't seem to work. Lucky for her, Torbjörn had made an appearance and found a distressed looking Lena and an angry crying baby. He gave Lena a questioning look which she shrugged and have him a meek smile.

"I just told them that they needed to clean up and then go take a nap but then they started yelling... Help me Torbjörn, I'm not good at these kind of things!"

Torbjörn huffed and readjusted his pants before walking over towards you. You looked up at the man who was hovering over you with a stern face and yelled. Torbjörn calmly waited until you were done before crouching down in front of you.

"There is a time and place for everything, now is not the time to act this way. We need to take a rest, no whining about it."

You stayed silent and stared at the man with the eye patch, you wanted to yell and scream at him again but the tone of his voice told you that he meant business and that you wouldn't win. You huffed and looked away from the bearded man and lifted your arms begrudgingly. Torbjörn happily scooped you up into his arms and turned to face Lena whose mouth was open in disbelief.

"I've had to deal with many tantrums when my kids were young, let's just say I know the right words that work." He gave her a toothy grin and placed you closer to his chest. You snuggled his beard and sniffed while you let out a loud yawn.

"Okay, child. It's time to sleep." Torbjörn carried you away with Lena following behind him quietly, still amazed at how he handled you.

"How have got to teach me that Torb!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick short chapter to show baby reader interacting with Uncle Torbjörn!  
> The next one will be out in a couple of days hopefully!  
> Thank you for all of your kind words and I'm glad that this little silly story is loved my so many!  
> Until next time!


	8. One Year: Spoiled

It was one of those rare days where Jesse was free from a mission. As of late he had been getting more missions because of the increase of crime around the area. Jesse had told Angela that he was running out of supplies for you. Angela gave him permission to leave the base with you to buy some supplies, she also insisted on accompanying him so that she could show him what kind of things he would need to buy for you. Jack somehow got wind of the three of you going out and also volunteered to come and act as extra protection, just in case something happens.

So here you all are, inside a close by department store  shopping for diapers, clothes and other things that are necessary to keep a toddler happy.

"[Name], don't go touchin' that." Jesse tugs slightly at the cloth that was wrapped between his fingers that was attached to the harness around your body. You gave a small grunt when he tugged you back, stopping you from touching some clothes that were hung up in front of you. Angela chuckles quietly at the scene. Who would have thought that toddler harness would have come in handy. Lena was the one that had purchased the item for Jesse and you when she was out on a mission.

"[Name], what did I say, don't go touchin'" another tug followed by another grunt. Jack huffed, while placing three boxes of diapers in the trolley that Angela was pushing.

"Okay, what else do we need for the kid?"

"I think [Name] needs some more clothes, they are growing and soon the clothes that they have will soon be too small for them." Jesse gave a nod in agreement. The four of them walked towards the clothing aisle and picked out a variety of clothes for you. Jesse was busy picking out clothes with Angela he didn't notice you wander off from him and pick up a toy that was on the ground, lucky for you the rope that was attached to the harness was long. You wobbled over to him and hit the back of his legs with the toy catching the attention of the cowboy.

"Hm? What is it darlin'?" he crouched down and stare at the plush owl that was in your hands.

"Mmmh!" Jesse blinked and patted your head.

"Not this time sweet pea, we are already buying so many things for you. Wouldn't you like some new clothes instead of a toy?" You shook your head frantically and thrusted the plush toy at his face. He get out a muffled sound before pushing it away with his hand.  "No, means no love." You stomped your feet and walked away from Jesse in frustration but was stopped when he tugged on the harness. You pouted and walked over to where Angela was looking at some jackets for you and tugged at her dress.

"Hm? What is it [Name]?" she bent down to look at you and you showed her the toy owl that was in your hands. "Do you want this?" you gave her a vigorous nod. Angela smiled and patted your head, "I'm sorry [Name], but Jesse did say no. And his words are final." You whined and stomped your feet again but you weren't discouraged. Thirds time the charm right? You wobbled over to where Jack was standing, his hand was placed on the handle of the shopping cart as he waited patiently for Angela and Jesse to finish in the clothes section. Tugging his pants to get his attention Jack gave you a glance before directing his attention to you.

"What is it kid?"

"Mmmm! Mmmm!" You pushed the plush owl to his pants and hugged his leg.  Jack stared at your form that was now attached to his leg like a koala he blinked before shaking his leg slightly. "Hey, now don't go doing that here." You gave him a muffled grunt which caused him to sigh. You looked up at him giving him your best puppy dog eyes while looking at his exasperated face. Jack tried to stay stern and not give in but when you gave a small tug at his pants one more time and let out a soft whine he gave in.

"..."

Jack sighed and picked you up from the ground holding you against his hip, Angela looked at Jack curiously when he had grabbed you into his arms. Jesse snorted at the commander and gave him a wolfish smile.

"If 'ya start spoiling them now, they will think that you will give them everything they want in the future." Jesse says while looking at you happily play with the owl in your hands.

Jack scoffed and turns his gaze to you, "It's okay to spoil them once in a while, It's not like I'll be doing it all the time."

Jesse snorts louder this time an tips his at Jack, "I beg to differ."

You happily held your new plush owl on the way back home, when you arrived back at the base you followed Jack around like a lost puppy which made Lena coo at how cute you were. Jesse and Angela watched the two of you interact, Jack picking you up into his arms when you raised yours, telling him to lift you up.

"That child has got him wrapped around their little fingers."

"Agreed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy!  
> Thank you all for reading!  
> Hope you all enjoyed! And thanks to those for all the love and support, kudos, comments and bookmarks!  
> Ill see you in the next chapter!  
> Until then!


	9. One Year: First Words

Paperwork. It was one of the many things Gabriel hated. Once he was done one pile, another would magically appear on his table. You were with the Blackwatch commander once again, this time no dangerous objects were in sight for you to grab onto. He had learned his lesson the first time. You sat on his bed while you played with some of the toys that Jesse had dropped off along with you before he had left. You favourite owl plush was by your side as you attached the big Lego blocks together. But of course after a while you got bored and wanted someone to play with and had crawled off the bed and walked over to Gabriel who was sitting at his desk.

"Mmmuuh!" You tapped his leg trying to get his attention, maybe he would sing you a song again, you really liked it when he sings.

"Not now kid, I'm really busy."

You frowned and walked to the side of his desk to find some papers that had fallen to the floor. You figured that he didn't need it anymore because it was on the floor and grabbed it along with a pen you found on the ground. You started to scribble on the paper making gurgling noises and cooing at your masterpiece when it was finished. Gabriel looked to the side to check on you quickly when he saw that you were drawing on his paper work.

"Hey! What did I say about drawing on my things!" He snatched the paper from your hands and tutted, "That's not nice [Name]." You blinked at him before your eyes started to get teary.

"Don't think that's going to work on me, I know all your tricks." You sniffed loudly and started to wail which caught the attention of the person that was passing by is room. Gabriel's door opened to reveal Jack who was looking at you with concern while you cried and sat on the floor.

"Reyes, what did you do?"

"The kid messed with my work so I scolded them." Jack sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "They're one, they don't understand what's right or wrong yet."

Gabriel snorted at Jack, "My ass-"

"Language!"

"They know for sure what we are saying." He have you a criticizing look, "They are just acting now, trying to make me seem like the bad guy."

Jack sighed again before picking you up which led you to immediately cuddle his shoulder. "If you're so busy why do you take them in when Jesse asks you?" Gabriel says nothing and goes back to his paper work making Jack shake his head.

"Come on kiddo, Lets go have lunch." You tugged at his coat and pointed to the bed, Jack caught on quickly and walked over to the bed and grabbed the owl. "Now we can go." He walked towards the door and muttered a farewell.

"See you, Reyes."

"Hm."

When the door closed Gabriel continued working on his papers before letting out a frustrated sigh, it wasn't that he didn't want to look after you. If he was being honest with himself he enjoyed your company and liked taking care of you. Just this time he was swamped with lots of paperwork. But he wasn't going to tell Jack that, or anyone else. It would be his little secret.

* * *

 

During your lunch with Jack you listened to him talk about random things that were happening around the base. How Winston was working on a new project and Angela working on training new recruits. He mentions Gabriel a lot, addressing him as Reyes. All you heard was, Reyes this. Reyes that. While you chewed the food in your mouth you watched the soldier complain about how if Reyes did not want to take care of you he shouldn't.

You liked Gabriel. He always gave you sweet snacks when the two of you were alone and if you were good. When he wasn't busy he read you books that he had brought out from under his bed. He said that they were his favourite when he was a child and read them to you in Spanish. More people started to meander into the cafeteria, Lena, Angela, Ana and Fareeha sat at the table and talked among themselves. Jesse had arrived from his mission and said that it had been easier than expected. The cowboy took a seat next to your high chair and gave your cheek a kiss making you giggle. Gabriel made is appearance making Jack eye him as he sat across from Jesse. The two somehow got into an argument and were throwing snide remarks at each other causing the table to laugh at their childishness. You however thought that they were fighting for real and were getting upset. You give a loud slap on your booster seat table and yelled.

"REY REY!"

The bickering stops immediately as everyone at the table turns to look at you. Jesse stares at you with his mouth wide open in shock.

"Sugar pie... what did 'ya just say?"

You slap the table again happily, "REY REY!" Jesse looks at you and looks at the direction you are looking at. You are staring at Gabriel who is looking at you silently, his face not giving any signs of surprise. Lena cheered and clapped her hands in excitement.

"Oh! Their first words! How cute!" she nudged Gabriel's shoulder, "You should be honored."

The table started praising you for your first words which was followed by them encouraging you to say their names next. Jesse almost cried because the first words you sais wasn't his name. Gabriel sat back and watched the table come to life, you happily repeated his name when the others asked you to and gave them a proud smile. He sneaked a glance at Jesse who was sulking, Jesse looked up to see him staring at him. Gabriel smirked causing Jesse to frown and reach for his gun.

That is, until Angela smacked them both on the back of their heads and told them to behave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you thank you! To all who read this chapter!  
> My, my, baby reader is growing up so fast! I cant wait until they are able to talk back to Jesse and Reyes!  
> I have lots more planned for the future chapters! I hope you all stay for the ride!  
> Thank you again to all who have left a kudo, comment and bookmark!  
> It means so much to me to see that people are enjoying my silly story!  
> I love reading all your comments and it really brightens my day when I do!  
> Anyways, Ill see you all in the next chapter!  
> Until then!


	10. Two Years: Silence

Jesse had left you in the common room while he took a quick trip to the bathroom. You were now at the age of two where he trusted you not to wander off by yourself. You were preoccupied playing with the toys that were in front of you to notice that someone had stepped into the room. Well, it wasn't like you could have known, the cyborg was always quiet when walking. Genji had planned to pass through the common area to take a quick shortcut towards the training rooms; usually at this time there were no people there and enjoyed not interacting with others. However when he stepped into the room he saw you sitting in the middle, playing with some toys. He saw you as no threat and decided to continue walking, you wouldn't even notice anyways. When he was almost half way across the room you suddenly turned to face him.

You felt a prickly sensation on your back as if someone was looking at you, so the first thing you did was to look back to see who it was. To your surprise you see that it is someone new and that you haven't seen before. He looked strange, lots of wires coming from his body, a mask covering half of his face and a sword on his back. You stare at him, quietly taking in his appearance.

Genji never felt this way before. When he saw the small child turn suddenly his hand went to his sword by instinct. Never had he felt so intimidated by another person, let alone a child. He placed his hand to his side, letting go of the sword and stared at you while making his way across the room.

Your eyes never left him until he had exited through the door on the other side. You blinked and sniffed, that was weird. You quickly lost interest and continued to play with your toys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short little chapter, just to introduce our one and only cyborg!  
> I want to thank everyone who has read and left a comment last chapter and previous chapters!  
> My heart is filled with so much love an joy!  
> I cant express how happy I am that people enjoy reading my work!  
> I digress, See you all in the next chapter!  
> Until then!


	11. Two Years: Potty Training

"Jesse, I've been meaning to talk to you about [Name]." Angela casually brings you up while the two were folding your now clean laundry. Jesse glances at the medic and hums lowly signaling her that he is listening.

"I think [Name] should start potty training." Jesse stopped folding the shirt that was in his hands and turned his head towards Angela with a miffed expression.

"What did 'ya say now?"

Angela gave him a look before continuing, "[Name] is two now and I think it is time for them to start learning how to go to the bathroom by themselves."

"Well, how in the world will they do that? Kid cant suddenly know how to take a poop in the toilet Angie."

Angela sighed, "You train them, Jesse."

"They 'aint no dog, doc."

A frustrated noise left her lips, "Jesse, you can't avoid this forever and you know it. [Name] needs to learn how to use the toilet on their own. And you being a responsible young man need to teach them." Jesse lets out a whine and finished folding the shirt that he had been holding for a while.

"Can't you teach 'em? Or Ana?" Angela gives him a pointed look in which Jesse scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

"You can't let the smell or sight of poop hinder [Names] growth, Jesse."

"I know, I know. I'll do it..." he grabs a pair of socks and proceeds to fold them, "Don't mean ill like it..."

Angela seemed satisfied with his answer and the both of them continued to fold your clothes in silence. Jesse was not excited to teach you how to use the toilet by yourself, he had just gotten the hang of changing your diapers and finally stopped gagging at the smell. _This is 'gonna be rough..._

* * *

 

You glance up at your cowboy as he shows you a new contraption. You have been in this room before, this is where you always washed your hands before eating and took baths with Jesse. But in the times you were in here you never had the chance to use this thing that he was pointing to and calling a 'toilet'.

"Jezze, whatjaat?" you pointed to the toilet still confused about how it worked.

"Darlin' thats where you need to do your duty now."

"Who- whoja dooty?" you tapped the covered toilet seat and smiled at Jesse who looked exasperated but gave you a warm smile.

"Alright sweetums' let Jesse show you how you use it."

Let's just say by the end of his explanation and lots of hand waving you still didn't understand what this 'toilet' was for.

* * *

 

It has been around two weeks since Jesse has 'taught' you how to use a toilet but no progress had been made. Jesse was about to pull his hair until Ana came into to common room and gave Jesse a knowing smile.

"It seems as though you are in need of assistance McCree."

Jesse nodded his head, "Ana, I have no clue how to get [Name] on the damn pooper. I've tried explaining it to them but I don't think they understand. I've placed them on the toilet and held them there telling them to go at it but then they started crying because they didn't know what was happening." Jesse glared at the sniper who was chuckling at his frustration.

"It will take a lot of practice and patience, McCree. [Name] is still learning, but don't you worry, once they finally see what you are trying to do things will go smoothly from there."

"I have no idea what 'yer talking about Ana, but boy I hope 'yer right." Ana nodded and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Patience McCree."

And boy did Jesse wait. It took you a month to finally use the toilet properly. When you had went number one in the toilet with his supervision he was so happy he had yelled out a loud 'YES! YOU DID IT!' making you squeal with delight and run out the bathroom butt naked. You had started to give him verbal cues of when you wanted to go, the occasional. 'Pee now.' or 'Poopy!' Angela had found it very amusing when she had finished with her paperwork in the medbay and was about to take a step out of the door when she sees a blur of red pass her and a familiar cowboy hat land at her feet. Jesse had been holding you arm lengths away while running to the nearest washroom. His yells of 'Git outta my way, they gotta pee!' echoed through the hall making the agents that were nearby immediately clear and laugh it his antics. He hadn't made it in time and you had peed your pants, which of course upset you and then proceeded to cry.

Another moment which Angela loves to mention was when you did your business when Jesse was out on a mission and you didn't want to flush because you wanted to show everyone what you made. Jesse had come back from his mission which had only been around eight hours, to come back to you sitting on the bed with Lena playing with your toys. When you saw the cowboy walk into his room you quickly grabbed his hand and led him to the toilet where he saw your 'masterpiece'. He had patted your head and kissed you cheek, trying to hide the grimace on his face which made Lena laugh. After a few minutes of talking he finally got you to flush the toilet, you had promised to show him your work again when you did it.

Which he replied with a, "Of course sugar plum, I'd love to."

* * *

 

Extra

Jesse at a table in the cafeteria holding a bottle of whisky in his hand. He had put you to sleep around and hour ago and had time to relax before he joined you. Gabriel had walked into the room and gave him a questioning look. Jesse raised the bottle to his lips, taking a long swig before wiping his mouth the back of his hand.

"I've seen too many shits in my lifetime, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves!  
> Thank you for taking the time and reading this chapter!  
> Just wanted to let you all know I have lots in store for this story!  
> I have typed out the outlines of the next couple chapters (like 15 future chapters) I got over excited.... heh....  
> But there will indeed be plot.... kinda...  
> I hope you enjoy innocent baby reader because I love them to bits!  
> I'll see you in the next!  
> Until then!


	12. Two Years: Safe

Jesse had been away for what seemed like forever, which in reality was only two days. You never got used to sleeping by yourself in his room when he was gone. Usually having someone to watch over you and sleep with you. This time however it seemed like everyone as busy with missions or scrambling around the base. It was not known to you but there had been an attack nearby which required more agents to be sent out which included the usual people that helped take care of you. You had been tucked into your bed, which was just Jesse's bed surrounded by pillows by one of the newer agents and left to sleep. You usually were able to fall asleep with no problem but something kept you from sleeping tonight. You needed someone to sleep with you, or else you wouldn't sleep at all. Slowly climbing off the bed you took your trusty stuffed owl and walked out of Jesse's room and into the empty hallway. By now you knew where the important rooms were. You shuffled towards the room what was two doors down, that was Rey Rey's but were stopped when his door didn't open as it usually did which meant he was not in.

You passed Lena's, Reinhardt's, Winston and even Angela's med bay but were not able to find someone familiar. Desperate to sleep and feel safe you wander around the halls for about an hour by yourself not once passing by others that worked there. You finally stumble upon a room that was at the very end of the hall and were pleasantly surprised that it opened. Taking this as a good sign you wobbled into the room and quickly crawled onto the empty bed. You somehow pull the comforter from its tucked in position and over your body snuggling your owl before letting out a loud yawn. For some reason you felt safe here, even though it was the first time you have been in this room. The decor was minimal and it seemed like the bed was rarely slept on. Your eyes fluttered shut before sleep took over you, you gave the wall that you were facing one last look taking note of the dragons that seemed to be carved into the wall before falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 

This was not what he was expecting to come back to. Genji had finished his part of the mission and had been told to head back to the base before the others while other agents dealt with the mess that was left behind. He was lucky he only had a few minor scrapes and bruises from the mission. Reyes had assigned Genji to scout out the area before the other agents were to attack and to provide where the guards were and where the main target would be hiding. He had returned to the base and walked towards his room intending to try and get some sleep that he had been lacking greatly but was met with a sleeping figure on his bed. His first instinct was to pull out his sword and defend himself but stopped himself when he saw who it was that was sleeping on his bed.

It was the child.

The child that had caught him off guard when he was trying to sneak past them. The child that made him feel uneasy for no apparent reason. The simple turn of their head towards his direction put him on edge for some reason and he could not fathom why. All he knew was that this child could become a possible threat to him as they get older. Genji walked up to the edge of the bed to peer down at you. The steady rise and fall of your chest showed that you were in deep sleep. he watched you turn onto your back changing your sleeping position, smacking your lips a bit before resuming your snoring. It looked like he was not going to get any rest tonight, not like it made a difference anyways. He grabbed the owl toy that was by your side, a little ways away from you and placed it gently next to your head. He also pulled the blanket higher to that it covered your shoulders before stepping out of his room and headed towards the training room.

This was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who read this chapter and who left me wonderful comments in the last!  
> I know I say this all the time, but I'm really happy that people are enjoying my story!  
> Thank you so much!  
> I'll see you in the next chapter!


	13. Two Years: Terrible Twos

Jesse would like to think that he was a patient guy. Yes, he did get a bit hot headed when he was on a mission and some ignorant man may piss him off causing a fight to occur. Yes, he may drink a bit too much sometimes and lose his temper when someone makes fun of his hat. And yes, he did think he was the best darn shooter he has ever seen. But this, this had taken the cake. Never in his life would he have thought that he would be yelling at you, raising his voice and watching you scream back at him. He thought he was doing a mighty fine job raising you, it had been hard at the beginning and he was still learning. But he had thought that you were a pretty good kid.

This, he didn't expect this.

The two of you sat in the cafeteria, everything had been going well until Jesse had urged you to eat your vegetables which you answered with a quick 'I don' wanna'. Being a responsible care taker he ushered you again to at least eat a bit before you can go play. It happened too fast.

You flipped your plate from the table and shoved the cup of juice that was beside you with your arm. Your face had become red out of frustration as you screamed at him.

"Jezze! I don' wan' eat vegies!"

"Sugar plum, you need to eat them so you can grow stronger."

A high pitched scream, "You can't make me!"

Jesse was starting to feel frustrated, you were causing a scene in the cafeteria where everyone could see. He didn't feel embarrassed that you were being loud and showing a side you yourself that he would rather not show other people. He was disappointed in how you were acting and did not see a point in this conversation.

You kept repeating your words, having it already set in stone for yourself, "You can't make me! You can't make me!"

Jesse felt like something inside of him short circuited, he grabbed your flailing arms gently and knelt down to get onto eye level with you.

You struggled against his grasp trying to swing and hit at his face but all your attempts were futile.

"[Name]. There is a time and place for everything and now is not it. I told you a simple request to eat your vegetables and the answer I got was screaming. Is this how I want you to behave when we are eating. Are we going to have to spent time learning how to eat properly again?" You yelling grew quieter while Jesse spoke to you, tears however kept falling from your eyes.

"[Name], is this how we act?"

You shake your head letting out a loud sob. Jesse repeated his question, "[Name], is this how we act?"

"N-no..."

"What are we going to do to change it?"

"S-stop...yellin'..."

Your sobs were now small sniffles as you rubbed your eyes with the back of your hand. "'M srry Jezze."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, but I don't want'cha acting that way again, 'ya here me honey pie?"

You give him a shaky nod and tug as his serape, pulling him closer for a hug. Jesse complied and wrapped his arms around you, picking you up and bouncing you slightly. You placed your head at the crook of his neck as you wiped your face on his serape.

"'I'll eat the veggies Jezze..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby is growing up so fast!!  
> Ahh! Thank you so much for reading!  
> Thank you, thank you for all who live this story love.  
> Until next time!


	14. Three Years: Imitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed!  
> See you until next chapter!!

They say imitation is the biggest sign of flattery. You had just gotten out of the bath tub and were running around naked in the room that you were currently in.

"[Name]! Please, you need to get dressed!" Lena blinked around the room trying to catch you but every time she appeared in front of you, you had already changed the direction of where you were running.

"Lena look, I'm nekked!" your joyful laughter filled her room while she smiled at you with an exasperated sigh. You giggled as she tried to snatch you but failed as you ducked under her arms and did a small summersault between her legs.

"Oi! Come on, love. We need to get dressed and have lunch, ya?" You stopped running and turned to the pilot, giving her a grin.

"Okie Lena. I dress now."

You walked over to her bed that had an array of different types of clothes placed on top of it.

"Would you like me to help you, love?"

You shook your head as you looked at the pieces of clothing on the bed, "No thank, I can do myself." Lena nodded and patted your head.

"Alright, love. I'm just going to be in the washroom, if you need anything come right in or give me a yell." you gave her a hum before grabbing some underwear and waving it at her direction.

"'Kay!"

You put on your under garments on and grabbed a plain black shirt. You slipped on some pants with some difficulty, hopping on one foot before falling on your bum and pulling them up while you were on the floor. You usually didn't care much about what you were wearing, if they were clean it was good enough for you. But for some reason today you decided to change you look a bit when you saw a red scarf on the bed. You didn't have one of these so you figured that it was Lena's. She wouldn't mind you borrowing that right? You draped the scarf on your shoulders and ran to the mirror to look at yourself. Blinking you stared at your reflection in the mirror. There was something familiar about how you looked. Before you could think about who you looked like Lena had come out of the washroom and called for you.

"[Name], are you done, love?" Lena walked over to you and let out a small gasp. "[Name], love. You look wonderful! I think you are missing something though." She walked to her closet and pulled out a hat and plopped it on your head.

"I was going to give this to you later, but I think now is the perfect time for you to wear it."

 

You grunted when she put the hat on your head. It was a bit too big making it tilt to the left slightly, you looked up and peered at you reflection in the mirror.

"Ah! Lena! I look like Jezze!" You gripped the hat tightly and turned to her with a happy smile on your face. Lena laughed and nodded, she grabbed the ends of your scarf and readjusted them on your shoulders making them drape more and look like the serape the cowboy always wore. "There you go, love. Now you look perfect."

"Thanks Lena!" You hugger he legs before letting them go quickly and running towards the door. "Let's go get some 'grub!" you held your two hands and pretended to shoot at her the soft 'pew pew' sound left your lips. Lena laughed and followed you out her room and towards the cafeteria.

When the two of you reached the cafeteria everyone had already been seated and were talking amongst themselves. You pushed Lena through the doors first before you making her chucking at your antics. During the walk from her room to the cafeteria you had babbled about wanting to surprise Jesse which resulted in her going through the doors first.

"Lena, nice of you to join us! Come, sit!" Reinhardt motioned for her to sit beside him which she nodded and sat herself between him and Ana.

"Where is [Name] Lena?" Fareeha asked as she raised the hot dog to her lips. Before Lena could answer the doors to the cafeteria slid open revealing you.

You stood facing away from them arms at your side, as if getting ready to draw you your guns. In the time you had Lena go inside first you procured a lollipop that was now in your mouth. You looked over your shoulder to everyone that was inside who was watching you with an amused smile. You quickly tunred around and shot your finger pistols letting out your sound affect escape your lips making everyone chuckle more. You smiled and ran up to the table to be greeted by Angela who was praising you for your performance and how cute you looked. Gabriel rolled his eyes and gave you a pat on the head before pushing you towards where your seat was. You happily hopped over to you rightful seat that was next to Jesse. Said cowboy was starting at you, eyes wide with shock, pride and other emotions that he could not place.

"I look like you Jezze!" you tipped your hat and gave you best southern accent, "Iz, high noon, Jezze."

Lena burst out laughing along with some other members as they heard you speak, after a couple minutes everyone got settled into eating their lunch. Jesse smiled at you and gave you a pat on the head making your hat fall over your eyes.

"'Ey! Jezze, I can't see!"

Jesse just laughed and gave you an one armed hug and continued eating his lunch, a smile stayed on his face for the rest of the day.


	15. Three Years: Down Time

"Why can't you play with me now?" you crossed your arms and looked at Gabriel with your puppy eyes. He sighed and pushed your face lightly to get you to move away from his paperwork.

"[Name], I told you, I have lots of paper work to do." He sat down on his chair and reorganized the papers you hand messed up earlier. "Go bug someone else." Huffing you pouted and walked out of his room in search for another play mate. You found Lena passing in the hallway and stopped to ask her if she wanted to play. She shook her head and gave you an apologetic smile saying that she was on her way out on a recon mission, whatever that means. You visited Winston, but he was busy with sorting stuff out with those guys on the screens. Angela was busy training new agents in the med bay and Jesse was in the shooting range. You had followed him once but he got mad because it was too dangerous for you to be there when weapons were being used. Which left you alone in a base filled with many potential playmates, but all were busy. You walked to the training room to play with some of the equipment there. Jesse said that you were allowed to play with the punching bag if no one was using it, so you decided to try your luck to see if it was busy inside. To your surprise it was empty, you chirped with glee and ran over to the punching bag that was in one of the corners of the room. Before you reached the bag you tripped over something and fell to your face.

"Ouch!" You grumbled and slowly lifted yourself up to see what you had tripped on.

"Gengu! Hi!" you smiled when you saw that it was the cyborg that you had tripped on. He seemed to be meditating and didn't answer to your greeting. You blinked and tilted your head. "Genju?"

No answer.

You walked in front of him and waved your hands at his face, "Genguu?? Hello? Are you sleeping?" You blew at his face,clapped your hands and stomped your feet but Genji did not move from his spot.

"Gengu is ded! I have to tell Angie!" You panicked and waved your hands around in a rush, tripping over your feet as you ran towards the door. However before your could come close to the door Genji was in front of you staring you down. You blinked and looked up at the cyborg and smiled.

"Gengu! You alive!" you cheered and reached out towards him to give him a hug around the legs but missed when he stepped to the side. Unperturbed you smiled at him once more. "You wanna play with me?"

 

Genji was having a pretty good day. No one had bothered him besides the check up that he had with Angela. He also had the whole training room to himself and could finally spend some time meditating. His meditation however was interrupted by a familiar child who came running in the room and tripping on him. He had ignored the futile attempts of trying to get his attention from the child in hope of them giving up and going away but when they said that they were going to get the medic because he was 'dead' he reluctantly got up form his position to stop them to cause any miscommunication. The child proceeded to smile and try and hug him, by instinct he had moved out of the way but the child stilled smiled. The simple  question that they asked would have made anyone's heart swell and agree to play with them, but not him.

"No." was his answer.

"Why not?"

Genji did not feel the need to answer the child and walked back to where he was sitting prior and got into his meditating position once more.

"Genju, why no play?" you followed Genji and watched him sit on the floor. You tilted you head and furrowed your brows. What was he doing? Was he going to sleep? "If you sleep, go to bed." you said as a matter of fact. "Jezze said you will hurt back if you don't sleep on bed."

You stood in front of the cyborg and stared at him, waiting for his answer. "Genju?"  You didn't receive a response and sat down in front of him crossing your legs like he did.

"Let's play."

"..."

"Please?"

"..."

"Are you asleep?"

"..."

"You need to go to bed."

"..."

"Genju, let's play."

Genji twitched in his position. Why weren't you going away? Wasn't it clear that he did not want to be bothered. He thought by ignoring you, you would go away but it seemed like it did the opposite. You stayed, now sitting in front of him, asking useless questions and interrupting his meditation.

"'Jus for a little! Please!"

Genji let out a deep breath through his nose before opening his eyes to look at your figure sitting in front of him. If you weren't going to go away by yourself he might as well try to appease you.

"You will follow what I do. That is the game."

Your eyes sparkled and shoulder perked when you finally heard him speak. "Okay! It like follow the leader! I play that before with Lena!"

Genji stood up and proceeded to slowly move his body, changing his stance every so often.  You excitedly followed him, trying to imitate what he was doing. To you it was a fun game, you were trying to copy what he was doing and when you got it right he would grunt and then change his pose. It was kind of like dancing!

Little did you know Genji was doing the beginner stances of aikido and watching you closely as you followed his movements. He noticed that you were a quick learner and continued the 'game' for a good forty five minutes until you got tired and declared that you were going to bed. You waved to him as you stood at the door.

"Bye Gengu! Thanks for playing with me!"

Genji watched the door close and stood in silence for a moment before muttering, "What a strange child."

Back to meditating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all who read the last chapter!  
> Here's another quick update!  
> I wont be able to update next week, busy busy busy!  
> Thanks again for reading!  
> See you next time!


	16. Four Years: Questions

You had been wondering for the longest time why you and Fareeha were the only kids in the base. You never really thought about it much until you were watching some T.V in Jesse's room. It was a cartoon about kids going to school and playing with their friends. You weren't really complaining, you had plenty of friends on the base but they weren't really your age. Fareeha was the closest age to you and played with you occasionally but she was also busy with her mother.

"Jesse."

Jesse looked up from the holopad that he was holding and at you, "Yes, sweet'ums?"

You kept your eyes on the drawing that you were currently working on at his table, "Why are me and Fareeha the only kids here?"

Jesse blinked before answering, "Well, Ana is the only one with a kid at the base. I guess that's why."

Not happy with his answer you tapped your crayon on the paper, "I want to make more friends."

"You are already friends with everyone on the base sugar plum."

You frowned as you colored the dog you drew green, pressing a bit too much when you did,  "I want friends outside of the base."

Jesse stared at you back quietly an uneasy feeling starting to form at the pit of his stomach, "I... I can't let you do that, sugar."

You stopped coloring and squinted at your drawing, "Why?"

"It's dangerous out there."

"You can protect me."

"It's not that simple, darlin'"

A huff left your lips as you gripped the crayon in your hand tighter, "Why?"

"It's for your own good, I just want to keep you safe, honey bee."

Unsatisfied with his answer you turned around and glared at him, the crayon in your hand snapping in half, "But why? Why can't I have friends that are my age? I don't understand!"

Jesse opened his mouth to answer you but closed it when he realized that he didn't have one. You were crying now, tears fell from your eyes freely as you stood from your chair to fully face him.

"I just want to have friends my age! I don't  get why I can't! You're not being fair!" You threw the broken crayon to the floor and  rubbed the tears from your eyes with the back of your hand.

"[Name]... sweetheart..."

"No! I don't want to talk to you! I hate you!" with that you ran out of his room and into the hallway. Jesse could hear your frantic steps fade and the sobs leave your lips. He should have chased you, and try to comfort you. Try to explain why he couldn't let you out of the base. He wanted to protect you from the dangers that were outside. But you were still too young, he didn't want to take away your innocence and replace it with the truth of the world.

He just wanted you safe.

Jesse sighed and tossed the holopad on the bed and ran his hand though his hair. He knew that you were lonely, but he was only doing what he thought was best for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I know I said I wouldn't be updating because I would be busy. But it turns out I'm not as busy as I thought I would be!  
> So just for a special treat I'm gonna double update!  
> Its almost Canada day and I'd like to find a way to celebrate it!  
> Even if you are celebrating the holiday or not!  
> Hope you all enjoyed reading!


	17. Four Years: Understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mi búho - my owl

You were a complete mess. After you ran out of Jesse's room  and into the hallway you immediately regretted it. You needed somewhere to hide, somewhere that you could feel safe. Tears continued falling from your eyes as you ran down the busy hall. People that were walking let out a surprised yelp or a worried 'are you okay?' You ignored everyone who tried to stop you and comfort you. Why were you thinking of these things all of a sudden. If you had just kept your mouth shut none of this would have happened. And you and Jesse would still be in the room enjoying each other's company. These thoughts about making new friends and going to school appeared when you had started watching T.V. You thought that the life you had was pretty normal, living on a base with lots of people who can play with you. But when you saw what the 'normal' was on television you started questioning how you lived your life. Being four years old you didn't fully understand why you were feeling like this and only knew that you were hurt and confused. Why wouldn't Jesse let you out to play? You went out a couple times to go shopping but always came back to the base right away. Your sight was blurred by the tears that continued to fall from your face, good thing you already memorized which room belongs to whom. You quickly made a left and busted though the door, which quickly shut once you were on the other side. You ran to the familiar bed and started sobbing loudly.

 

Gabriel's day was all planned out. Wake up, have some coffee, train a bit then get down to doing some paperwork that he has been neglecting for some time. The last thing that he would expect was you bursting through his room. Well, he was already used to that. It had become a normal occurrence, if not a daily one. The only difference now was that you had burst into his room and flung yourself on his bed crying. Gabriel didn't move from his seat as he listened to your sobbing. He rubbed his temples and let out a inaudible sigh.

"[Name], what did I say about entering my room?"

His answer was your muffled response.

"What was that?"

You lifted your head from the pillow you had buried your face into, "T-to always...k-knock before coming... i-in..."

"And what did you do?"

You stared down at the pillow sadly watching your tears stain the case, "N-not knock..."

Gabriel turned from his seat to finally take a look at you. Your hair was sticking out in random places, eyes swollen and tear streaks running down your cheeks; not to mention the snot dripping from your nose and onto his pillow.

"Tell me what happened."

Your shoulders shook and you turned your face away from the man ashamed. Gabriel raised a brow, "How will I know what's wrong if you don't tell me, [Name]."

Grabbing the pillow you hugged it to your chest in attempt to comfort yourself and stop crying," 'Dun wanna..."

"You are being a child, [Name]."

You looked to the side and frowned at the bare walls, "Rey Rey, I _am_ a child..."

Gabriel had to stop himself from snorting, looks like you could still be snarky even when in distress. "[Name], tell me."

You shook your head and hugged the pillow tighter, "Nuh-uh."

Gabriel rose from his seat and walked towards the bed. He sat at the edge closest to you and sighed, "Please, tell me." you only shifted away further from him, still too stubborn to  talk.

"Mi búho, please. Tell me."

You pouted at the familiar nickname before slowly turning towards him.

"I got mad at Jesse..."

"Again? I don't see how that is problem."

You shook your head, "I... I yelled at him and said I hated him..."

Gabriel stared at you and hummed in thought, "And why did you say that?"

Sniffing you inched closer to Gabriel, "Because I wanted to go outside and make new friends and Jesse said I couldn't."

"Did he say why you couldn't?"

You didn't respond as you drew circles on the fabric of the pillow, "[Name]?"

"He said 'cuz it was dangerous... and he jus' want me safe..."

"So you yelled at him for wanting to keep you safe, yeah. You are a brat."

"Hey!" you pouted and gave him your best glare, "'M not a brat Rey Rey!"

Gabriel snorted, "Yeah, and I'm ghost." He placed a hand on your shoulder and gave you a look that he always gave you when he wants you to listen carefully. "Jesse is only doing what he thinks is best for you. He loves you too much for something to happen to you, you see that right?"

You nodded as tears started to form in your eyes once more, "Mmmhmm..."

"Was it fair to yell at him like that, when he only told you the truth?"

"N-no..." you wiped at your face and sniffed. "M sorry..."

"Not to me, you need to apologize to someone who you hurt."

"I-But... Jezze hates me now..." your words came out garbled as more tears fell from your eyes and sobs escaping your lips, "He don't wa'na see me no more..."

Gabriel patted your head and ruffled your hair, "Mi búho, both you and him are so much alike..."

"Whuzzat 'spose 'ta mean...?"

Gabriel looked down at you fondly and shook his head, "Nothing. Let's go and apologize, brat." Gabriel stood from the bed and walked over to the door. You wiped your face once more before hopping off the bed and walking towards him.

"'M not a brat, Rey Rey."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's the double update I promised!  
> Happy Canada Day to those who celebrate!  
> And if not I hope you have a wonderful day!  
> Thanks so much for reading!  
> I'll see you next chapter!


	18. Five Years: Secret

You were watching Jesse polish his guns while you ate lunch at the table. You bit into your taco and chewed loudly, you always loved the crunchy sound it made when you ate. "Jezze, I 'wan you 'ta teach me how 'ta fight." your sentence was barely heard between your obnoxious chewing and lip smacking. Jesse frowned at you and gave you a pointed look.

"Now what did I say 'bout chewing with 'yer mouth open, [Name]?"

You grinned and took another bite from the taco, "Not 'ta!" Jesse shook his head and placed his guns back into his holster.

"Now, what In 'tha world made you think of wanting to fight?"

You swallowed and shurgged at him, "Dunno, I just wanna learn."

Jesse chuckled and pat your head with affection, "'Yer a bit too young to be learning things like tha' sweet pea. I'll always be here 'ta keep you safe."

"Jesse, why are you always covered in bandages when you come home?"

Jesse blanched and hummed in thought, "I'm pretty clumsy, darlin'." you didn't say anything as he stopped patting your head and excused himself to get some food. You watched his back silently before taking another bite from your taco.

You weren't stupid. You knew Jesse does dangerous things when he leaves the base. You have seen him go in and out of Angela's med bay multiple times, new bandages in different spots every time. You knew that he hurt and is still hurting when he tucks you in at night. When he kisses your head and says he will keep you safe and he loves you. You knew that he tries to hide his wounds from you, always telling you to go play while he visits Angela. You always listened to him and ran off to play but secretly followed him to see what was really happening. You saw the scars on his body. He had lots, too many for your liking. You knew he was lying, to keep you safe.

It hurts.

It hurts you that you couldn't do anything to keep him from getting hurt. You knew you were too young to fight, to even try and protect him from danger was a joke. You knew you were helpless you slept with him and he twisted and turned at night, most likely having nightmares.

And you couldn't do anything.

You watched Jesse's figure grow father from the table you were sitting at and merging with the people who were ordering food at the front, you kept a close eye on his cowboy hat and ate the rest of your taco.

You knew you were too young, too naive, too inexperienced to protect him from harm.

But you also knew that you wanted to help in any way you can. You knew you wanted to protect him and the people you love.

You knew that you needed to grow stronger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! thank you all for reading!
> 
> I'm sorry I haven't been able to answer all of your comments,I get really forgetful at times.  
> But some of the comments I read that stood out to me I will address here!
> 
> Someone asked about the readers speech and how they grow up with many people that are around them and if they pick up any speaking habits like accents and slang. I would like to say that the reader will be speaking 'normally' as in having no accent (besides whatever you want theirs to be). But will switch to a southern accent, like Jesse's when they are highly emotional; for example: flustered, stressed, or even feeling playful.  
> For the Genji that I am writing for the reader to interact with now, he is the Blackwatch Genji. I tired making him a bit more aloof and uncomfortable around the reader as a child because he is no used to his body yet and is still confused about who and what he is. (at least that's my take on him being in Blackwatch).  
> There was also a comment that asked if Jesse ever referred himself as a father or parent to the reader. That... will be addressed later on...
> 
> Anyways! I just want to thank all who have read, is reading and will continue to read my story! It makes me so happy to know that there are people enjoying my writing (even if there are some grammar and spelling mistakes... maybe even more....). 
> 
> I have mapped out what will happen in the future and wanted to let you all know that this is far from the end! But when we do get closer to the end I will ask you all for some input!
> 
> Until next time!  
> See you next chapter!!


	19. Five Years: Teach Me

Upon realizing that you were weak, useless and clueless you had taken it upon yourself to try and get stronger. Which is why you had decided on stalking a certain cyborg ninja. In the past couple weeks you had learned Genji's schedule and followed him around the base. In the mornings he only drank tea then went to train for a couple hours. After he went to his room to rest then came out for lunch, which he always ate by himself. More training and meditating and then back to his room. It was pretty basic. You had thought you had been doing a pretty good job of watching him from afar and copying his movements when he trained but apparently you were not as great of a stalker you thought you were.

You were currently in the training room waiting for Genji to arrive, you hid in your usual spot behind the tall stack of training mats at the corner of the room. But the cyborg had yet to appear. It was already ten minutes past the time he usually arrived which was odd because he was usually on time. You sighed quietly and peeked over the mats to check if he was there but was met with nothing, you groaned and hopped down from the mats and turned around only to jump when you saw what or who was standing behind you.

"Ah! Mother fu-" you snapped your lips shut, if Genji heard you cuss he might tell Jesse, or even worse Gabriel. You didn't want to deal with that at the moment. "Uh, Genju- I mean.. GEnJI- Hi!" you stuttered nervously folding your hands behind your back. "F- fancy seeing you here, uh- I just came here to train while you did-I mean. Train. By myself...because that's what I do..." you started to sweat nervously, the cyborgs piercing gaze made you uncomfortable.

"Why have you been following me around for the past four months." it was more of a statement than a question.

"Following... M-me? Nah- Not me, I don't... follow you, people..." you took in a deep breath and bowed your head, "I'm sorry, I have been following you in secret." you confessed guiltily.

"It wasn't really a secret, you are horrible at stealth."

Ouch, what a bummer. And you thought you were doing pretty well too. "Well! I thought I was doing pretty good! Considering I have no training and you didn't say anything!"

Genji stayed silent and watched you rant and try to defend yourself, "What is your purpose."

You sucked in a breath, this was your chance to ask, "Iwantyoutoteachmehowtofight!"

"No."

You balked, "What?! Why not! I promise I'll listen!" You raised one of your arms and flexed, "I'm pretty tough, so no need to worry about me!"

"You are but a fragile child."

"That's why I need to get stronger! So I won't be frag-ilse!"

"Fragile."

"That's what I said!"

"No."

"Awh, come on Genju!" you waved your arms around you exasperated, you gave up on speaking to him formally and reverted back to the way you originally talk.

"Do not call me that."

"Like, just a little.  I won't even tell anyone your teaching me! So you don't get in trouble!" you were practically begging now, if you had to get down on your knees you would.

"Ask someone else."

"No!" your answer shocked him, you stared at him with a hard look, "It has to be you! Only you!"

Genji remained silent as he stared at you. The look in your eyes reminded him of himself when he was younger, begging his brother to teach him how to use the sword. For a split second he saw himself in your shoes. You were too young to learn how to fight. But was he one to talk? Him and his brother started learning how to fight at a very early age because of the clans traditions.

"When I have time."

Your eyes sparkled and you smiled, "Really!?"

"Only, when I'm not busy."

"Sweet!" you took a step towards him to give him a hug but was met with air when he stepped away. "So we start now, yeah?" you weren't put off by him dodging your hugs.

"I said, when I'm not busy."

You grinned at him, "Well, 'ya 'aint doin' nothin' right now but talkin' 'ta me, so I guess 'ya 'aint busy~" you gave him a playful wink.

Genji turned his back to you and made his way towards the door. "Wait! Sorry! I was only kidding! Genji!"

Genji rolled his eyes, what a cheeky kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who have read, commented, left a kudo and everything else!  
> I always say this, but I really am happy to see that people are enjoying my story!  
> Hope you all enjoyed reading!  
> I'll see you next chapter!


	20. Five Years: Interest

"Hey, Fareeha." a hum was your answer, silently allowing you to speak. You closed you drawing book and placed it beside you before turning to her. "What do you and your mom do?"

Fareeha looked up from the book she was reading, slowly blinking at you and taking in the question you had asked. "My mother and I train together."

"Mmm, like. To fight and stuff?"

"Correct." you hummed and looked out the window towards the ocean.

"Why do you want to fight?"

Fareeha was quiet as she stared at your face. The look you had was not supposed to be seen on a child as young as yourself, you had a faraway look in your eyes as you stared out the window. "I want to become stronger and protect the people I love."

"And whys that?"

"There is justice that needs to be done in our world, [Name]."

You close your eyes and leaned against the window, letting the cool glass seep through your clothes. "What happens when people leave the base for work?"

Fareeha stiffened and gripped the book in her hand tighter, "They..." she was hesitant to tell you the truth but she had a feeling that if she lied you would keep asking her. "They have to fight bad people who are harming the innocent."

"So like, superheroes."

"In a way."

"I kinda wanna be a superhero." you opened your eyes and looked into Fareeha's eyes. She could see the strong resolve burning though your eyes making her gut twist with discomfort. You blinked and gave her a goofy smile, "I want to shoot laser beams from my eyes, I think that would be cool!" Fareeha sucked in a sharp breath before letting out a sigh.

"It sure does sound cool, [Name]." you hummed and reopened your drawing book and continue to doodle in it. She returned her attention to the book she was reading but found herself unable to focus on the words, the nauseous feeling in her stomach bothered her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little quick update!  
> Hope you all enjoy!


	21. Six Years: Being Attentive

You sniffed softly as you limped towards the med bay. Your knees ached with every step you took, blood slowly running down towards your ankles. Once you entered the med bay you called Angela's name softly. Said woman looked up from what she was doing and greeted you with a smile but it quickly turned into a worried frown.

"[Name]! What have you done this time?!"

You stood in front of her quietly, one arm holding onto the other, you turned your face away in shame. "I fell... again." Angela tutted and motioned towards one of the empty beds. You walked towards it and climbed up to sit on it with difficulty. Angela's arms lifted you up and placed you on the soft cushioning. She busied herself by gathering the things she needed nearby and glided over to you.

"How many times do you have to hurt yourself this week, [Name]?" you shrugged and gave her a crooked smile which reminded her of Jesse whenever he entered the med bay.

"I don't plan on getting hurt Angie, things just happen, I guess." Angela rolled her eyes and hummed as she started to clean the wound. Even with her gently handling your wound on yoir knees, you still flinched in pain but said nothing as you watched her. You watched as she finished cleaning the wound, put some cream on it and wrapped it with some gauze.

"Hey Angie?"

"Mm?"

You swung your now bandaged knee to test if it was okay to move it, "You should teach me how to fix wounds and stuff."

Angela glanced over her shoulder and smiled at you, "There is no need for that [Name]. As long as I am here, you do not have to worry about those things."

You stared at the bandages on your knees, "I dunno, I think it would be handy in case I hurt myself and no one is there to help me. Or if someone gets hurt too." you watched her back tense slightly making you narrow your eyes at her. "Just in case."

Angela didn't turn around to face you as she spoke, "[Name], my child. You are too young to be worrying about these types of things."

Your frown deepened, "Just in case, Angie." you repeated, "Just in case." You hear Angela sigh and turn towards you.

"Just the basics." you smiled at her and nodded enthusiastically.

"Mm! Here's the good thing, if I fall again I don't need to come to you to patch myself up!" Angela chuckled at your excitement.

"If you do hurt yourself again, I'd still like you to come here so I can see how well you did." you nodded at her and held up your pinky.

"I promise." Angela laughed and hooked her pinky around yours.

"I'll hold you to that, [Name]" she lifted your off the bed and placed you gently to the floor. "Now come, let me show you what all these tools are, and what sort of things your need for minor injuries."

"'Kay!" You followed her happily as she showed you the different types of tools, creams and bandaging on the table. You listen intently to everything she was saying, making mental notes for you to write down later. It was always good to know the basics.

_Just in case._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed!  
> I also just want to address some things about the reader and how they are progressing as they age.  
> The reader is growing up at a very fast pace because of the type of situation they are in.  
> Being in a middle of war and fighting and being surrounded by those who go out to fight those wars, I would like to think that the reader would have to become more mature faster than other children. Which I see, as something kind of sad, but has to be done so the reader can cope with the ongoing situations in their life.  
> The overwatch characters are still relatively young, as in Jesse is still around in his mid 20's (as i would like to think he is a bit younger when he is in blackwatch). Same goes for the other characters ages, I would say I would tweak them a bit to fit the story, but once we get into the older ages of the reader they will be back to the ages that they are seen at the present.  
> Hope that makes sense and does not confuse anyone! If you have any questions feel free to msg me or leave a comment!  
> I will be double updating for this week because I'm not sure if I can update next week!  
> Thank you all again!  
> And see you until then!


	22. Six Years: Building Knowledge

"Uncle Torbjörn! I'm here with the, uh, stuff?" You entered the messy workroom and yelled out to the bearded man. "Uncle Torb?" you moved a pile of scrap metal with your foot to make a path for you to walk. In your arms you carried a big bag full of screws that varied in sizes. "Hellooo??" a loud crash startled your almost making you drop the bag. "Uncle Torbjörn?!" a loud cough was heard to your left making you turn your attention towards the sound.

"'Ay! [Name]! There 'ya are! I've been waiting for those screws." Torbjörn shuffled over towards his work table and motioned you with his clawed hand to come over. You smiled and tip toed over the mess that was on the floor.

"I got your screws from Winston." you shifted the large bag in your arms, "U-umm...?"

"Oh right!" Torbjörn looked at his messy table and swiped his arm across it clearing it from its mess and making the things that were once on top fall to the floor. You grimaced and made a face when you see more scrap pieces fall making the room messier than it already was and placed the bag on the table. You placed the bag of screws on the now empty table and gave him a smile.

"So, uh. What are you going to do with all this?" you looked around the messy workshop, noticing the oil stains on the ground and various tools scattered everywhere. Torbjörn gave you a large smile and ushered you over towards another table that had some pieces that he was working on.

"I'm just building some new turrets for myself! Gotta see what would be the best in what situation I might find myself in."

You eyed the long cylinders on the machine, "For like, fighting bad guys, yeah?" Torbjörn hummed and grabbed a tool from the side of the table and began to tinker with the turret. You watched him quietly for a couple of minutes before taking a couple steps away from the table so you could explore. Torbjörn never minded you walking around his workshop, as long as you didn't mess with anything. Unlike, Jesse, Gabriel or Jack; he let you look and occasionally help him out in the workshop, which usually meant passing him the told that he needed.

"What types of weapons are these good for?" you pointed to some pistols that were on a table a bit a ways away from you. Torbjörn stopped his tinkering and looked to where you were pointing.

"Ah, those are pistols. Good for close range battle, very quick to shoot too." you then pointed to a large cannon, "That one is good for long range, more on the defensive side."

"Mmmm, and this?" you patted some gloves that were decked out with spikes and what looked like something that could conduct electricity.

"Those are good for close range, they stun an enemy giving you the upper hand to go at them."

You eyed the gloves thoughtfully before walking back towards him, "Can you teach me which weapons are better against certain types of fighting?" Torbjörn blinked and chuckled.

"Whatever do you need to know that for, my dear?"

You looked off to the side and shrugged, "'Dunno, just something to know I guess?"

Torbjörn nodded and grabbed a chair that was behind him for you and patted the seat. You quickly sat down and listened to him ramble about which weapons were more effective against long range, short range and hand to hand combat. He also showed you some gear that would be good for defense and support and explained why they were important too. You also learned about the different types of tools that he used and what they did. The whole time he was talking you stayed quiet, taking everything that he said making sure to remember to write it down once you got back to your room.

You never know when you would need it, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some interaction with Torbjörn! This is the first time we see the reader referring anyone as a 'family' figure. I think that Torbjörn would be the first the reader would consider calling an uncle (besides Reinhardt, in that case might call him grandpa).   
> As they grow older you will start seeing more 'family titles' being used, like, Auntie, Uncle, Sister. But that will be for later.
> 
> I want to thank you again for reading! And hope to see you in the next chapter!


	23. Six Years: Training Session

It had been a long day and you were finally able to go to bed. It was around ten at night, definitely past your bed time. You got ready for bed, brushing your teeth, hair, washing you face and changing into your pajamas before settling in between the soft comforters. Tomorrow was Sunday which meant it was your day off, from helping Angela clean up in the medbay. No need to deliver things to people or watch Fareeha train with her mother. It was the only day you got to relax fully. Which also meant sleeping in. You sighed and closed your eyes, falling easily into a deep sleep.

 

It was around six in the morning when you stirred from your slumber, you kept your eyes closed as your mind started to slowly wake up. Someone was in your room and it wasn't Jesse. If it was Jesse he would have woken you up and you would have recognized the smell of smoke and gunpowder. You stayed still, unmoving. Maybe if you pretended you were still asleep they would go away. But what happens if you were in danger? No, you couldn't be, you were surrounded by so many people that someone would have found out. So it meant that it was someone that resided in the base. You slowly opened your eyes to look at who was standing in your room and saw the familiar glow of red lights.

You croaked softly blinking your eyes trying to adjust in the darkness, "Genji?"

Said cyborg continued to stare at you before turning and walking out of your room. You stared at the spot that he was standing at before blinking wildly and scrambling out of your bed. You ran towards your dresser and quickly changed into comfortable clothes and ran out your room to catch up with him, a wide grin was plastered on your face. Once you entered the training room you see Genji sitting down meditating, without saying anything you took the spot next to him and copied his stance and started to meditate as well. After about thirty minutes Genji got up and started stretching. You followed him and watched him carefully. Your 'training' with Genji usually consisted of him walking you up from one of your naps, or walking up to you in the hall silently telling you to follow him. Once the two of you were in the training room you meditated then stretched, then you proceeded to follow him when he started to do the basic stances of aikido. He never really taught you anything beyond that but you didn't mind. You liked what you were doing and thought that you were getting better at the basic stances and it seemed like your balance was getting better.

"Get into the basic defense stance and then I want you to come at me."

You blinked, nearly losing your balance at the sudden request, "Wh-what?"

"I will not repeat myself."

"Uh... Ok?" you did as you were told and waited for Genji to motion you to run at him. When you did you made your body low and aimed to tackle him at his legs. Of course being the small child that you are he did not budge, grabbed your by your waist  and flipped you over onto your back as gently as he could.

"Oof!" you stared at the ceiling and blinked, trying to process what just happened. "Uh, what just happened?"

"Again."

You slowly sat up and got onto your feet once more and ran towards the cyborg. The next few minutes consisted of him flipping you over or dodging you and you running at him. You were starting to get frustrated, you already lost count on how many times you had gotten pinned down. Every time you tried to change your plan of attack Genji would always find away to either dodge or change your direction. Genji could see that you were getting frustrated by the way your movements were, they were becoming more rash and frantic. With one last breath you ran at him with the rest of your energy letting out a cry, you swore you caught him off guard and almost made him trip over his feet but was met with the ground and air escaping from your lips. You stare at the ceiling with dismay and didn't bother standing up. Genji rolled his shoulders and grunts softly.

"That is all for the training today." with that he leaves you on the floor with you and your thoughts.

You didn't know how long you were lying on the floor for and you didn't notice the tears that were escaping your eyes. You were frustrated. You were frustrated at yourself for thinking that you were starting to get the hang of fighting. The basic stances that Genji has been teaching did not mean anything if you weren't able to catch him off guard once. You were weak and you were reminded again of how useless you are.

I guess some things never change, no matter how hard you try.

You released a frustrated snarl from your mouth which quickly turned into a pitiful sob, you slammed your fist to the floor beside you as the other hand went up to cover your eyes. You were weak and couldn't protect anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> It seems that in the more recent chapters of the story things have been getting a bit more... angsty.  
> And I apologize for that! I'm just trying to get the story into motion and apparently I like to write angst??  
> Whut-  
> But I promise that there will be some light hearted chapters later on....  
> Let me know if you have any questions!  
> Anywho, I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	24. Six and a half Years: Excitement

When you woke up this morning you had decided to spend the day with Gabriel. So here you were helping him staple some of his paperwork together and organizing them in alphabetical order. Amidst the comfortable silence and the rustling of papers you casually brought up a topic.

"Hey so, I kinda wanna learn how to shoot a gun." you said as you stapled some papers together. You reached for more ignoring the look Gabriel was giving you.

"Are you stupid? You're too young."

You hummed and shrugged, "Okay, that's fine." you placed the last of the stapled pages on the stack before grabbing them and moving towards the folders to organize them. Gabriel stopped writing and watched you move around in his office, you had asked a pretty big question and from what he has been hearing from Jesse you were begging him to teach you how to fight. But when he had declined your request he was shocked to see that you didn't even put up a fight. Gabriel sighed in defeat and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"If you tell _anyone_ , your dead." with that he turned back to his papers and continued writing.

You placed the papers on the table in front of you and ran towards him jumping on his back with glee. "I love you, Rey Rey!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small chapter! I will be uploading another one right away that is a bit longer!  
> See you in the next chapter!  
> Thanks for reading!


	25. Seven Years: Stamina

You were not much of a runner, you would like to say that you were the type of person to stay and watch from a far. Keeping a decent amount of distance from another person seemed ideal to you, you could keep an eye on the person you were watching and escape if needed. That didn't mean that you didn't like being up close and personal, especially when it came to hand to hand combat. What you noticed in yourself was that you could not keep up sparring for long periods of time. Which is why you were here today.

"Jack, I think I need to take a breather..." you panted loudly as you crouched, taking in deep breaths while you balanced yourself on your knees. Jack raised an eyebrow at you and scoffed.

"Kid, if you wanted to run with me, I expect you to at least try and keep up."

You glared at him but didn't say anything back because of the lack of oxygen, "I'm... seven..."

"Excuses."

You finally caught your breath and grabbed your water bottle on the bench nearby and greedily chugged it down. Jack watched you carefully before clearing his throat.

"Enough rest, let go kid."

You gave him the stink eye as you placed your water bottle down, "Yeah... yeah..." You followed Jack to the tracks and stretched with him before jogging at a light pace. Gradually he started to speed up making you follow him begrudgingly. You fell quite a bit, at least five times, scraping your knees, elbows and chin in the process. You ignored how Jack said that you were too slow for a seven year old and that you needed to keep building your stamina. You shot him a glare after every time your fell and got up, trying to catch up to him and miserably failing. By the time you were done running with him you were drenched in sweat, blood and tears.

You were miserable.

Jack ran his hand through his hair and gave you a crooked smile, "Good job today, kid. Go get yourself patched up." He patted your sweaty head and walked towards the shower rooms. You puffed your cheeks out in frustration and walk towards the benches where your things were. You sat down and grabbed you backpack and pulled out a small med kit that Angela gave a couple months ago as you proceeded to try and bandage your wounds. With some difficulty you did and then started to hobble towards the med bay to get her to check your handiwork.

 

 

"Angela?"

"[Name]! What did you do again?" Angela gasped and walked over to you, placing her hand on your shoulders giving you a once over. "How come every time you visit me your either hurt or sick?" You gave her a toothy smile and shrugged.

"But, look!" You showed her your bandaged elbows and knees. "I did it myself! Pretty good huh?" Angela shook her head and checked over your wounds.

"They look good to me, good job." She smiled at you and raised a hand to gently lift up your head, "Ah, it seems you missed something." You blinked at her before letting out an 'ooooh yeah.' She cleaned the scrape that was on your chin and put a bandage on it. You grinned at her and hugged her waist.

"Thanks Angela!" said medic laughed softly and hugged you back.

"You mustn't focus on training so much, you should enjoy your time as a child and play more, [Name]." she scolded you lightly while patting your head. You sniffed and snuggled your face into her stomach humming, neither in agreement or disagreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who have read this chapter!  
> I hope you enjoyed reading!  
> If you have any questions feel free to message me!  
> Until next time! <3


	26. Seven Years: Flush

"Uno."

A low grunt which was followed by the sound of shuffling cards, "Dagnabbit." Jesse reaches for a card in the deck and frowns when you place your last card into the playing pile.

"I win again." you gave the cowboy a toothy smile and started to gather up all the cards to reshuffle them. "One more game, Jesse?" Jesse gives you the cards that are in his hands and nods.

"Anything for you sweetpea." He repositions himself on the sofa and leans backwards, watching you shuffle the cards and deal out the hands.

"Hello, loves! What are we doing here today?" in a flash Lena was at your side looking over your shoulder. You didn't bother turning around and hummed at her gently focusing on your task.

"Playing Uno, you wanna join in Lena?" Lena nodded excitedly and took a seat next to you. After a couple minutes you were once again on your last card.

"Uno."

"Now, what in tarnations! [Name], darlin' I think you've been cheating this whole time! There is no way you can win nine times in a row!" Jesse throws his cards down on the table with mild frustration as Lena sighs and places her cards on the table as well. You grinned and gave the two a shrug.

"Not cheating, Jesse. I'm just good at this game."  you gathered the cards and placed them in the box. "Can we play another game, if that's alright?"

Jesse rolled his neck and gave you a look, "And what would that be, darlin'?" You gave the two a mischievous look and grinned.

"Poker."

"Wha- [Name], where did you learn how to play that?" Lena asked as her eyes blinked at you with surprise.

"I don't know how to play, I just watched Gabriel, Jack and Reinhardt play it a couple nights ago and it looked fun." you smiled to yourself remembering how frustrated Jack would get when Gabriel would win. "I wanna learn, is that okay?"

Jesse grunted and shared a look with Lena before sighing, "Alright sugar pie, but Poker is a pretty hard game, it takes a while to get good at it." he grabbed a deck of cards from under the table and grinned, "Don't be upset if you keep losing." You shook your head telling him that you wouldn't.

"'Course not, Jesse. I'm no sore loser."

Jesse grinned at you and started to deal out the cards, Lena smiled and picked the cards in front of her and watched Jesse teach you how to play.

 

 

"Royal Flush."

Jesse threw his cards on the table and ran his ringers through his hair with frustration. He glared at you slightly when he saw you smirk at his loss. Lena sighed and placed her cards down and flopped back onto the couch.

"[Name], love. You learn very quick don't 'cha?" Lena patted your shoulder tiredly. The three of you have been playing for about an hour and you had won three times. Jesse refrained from grabbing a cigar from his pocket and lighting it to ease his nerves and settled for throwing his hat at your face.

"I swear, yer' cheating, honey bee."

You gave him look of fake shock, "What? Me? I just learned how to play today Jesse!" you leaned forwards to slap his head lightly and placed his hat back on top. "Also, how could I be cheating if you were the one dealing the cards." Jesse pouted and sighed.

"You tell me, lemon pop. It's either you are a genius or just real lucky."

"I'd like to think I just had beginners luck!" you smiled, "At least we weren't playing for anything."

"Would have lost anyways..."

"Stop being a grouch, Jesse." You placed the now packed cards on the table and stood up, "Let's have dinner!" Lena nodded and stood up to follow you. Jesse groaned and slowly made stood from his spot.

"You really catch on quickly, [Name]! I'm really surprised you won against Jesse so many times, he's usually really good at poker!"

You nodded at the brunette, "Like I said, beginners luck!" You hummed softly as the two of you walked towards the cafeteria. You turned and caught a glimpse at Jesse who was walking behind you and smirked, _it also helps that I can count cards too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all who read this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed!  
> Things are going to be getting a bit more.... bumpy, I hope you are all ready for it!  
> But don't worry, there will be some light hearted chapters in between to... lessen the blow for when it all goes to shit...  
> Ahhhh, see you in the next chapter!


	27. Seven Years: Resolve

It was a hot day as it usually was during the summer time and you and Lena were relaxing in the indoor pool at the base. You floated casually on the doughnut floatie you were currently on and Lena lounged on one of the many beach chairs at the side of the pool.

"Hey, Lena?"

"Yes, love?"

You paddled over to the side of the pool she was in and got off the floatie to lean on the edge of the pool. "Can I ask you why you have that machine on your chest?" Lena stopped reading the magazine that was in her hands and placed it on the table beside her. You saw the look on her face change and immediately regretted asking. "Sorry! If you don't wanna talk about it that's okay too!"

She shook her head and laughed, "It's alright, love. I don't mind tellin' ya." You nodded and remained quiet urging her to continue. "I have this thing, it's called a chronal accelerator. It's kind of like a harness to keep me here and not blink away to another time."

"So kinda like how an anchor keeps a ship in one place?"

"Exactly! Winston made this for me because of my... situation I suffer from. It helps me control where I want to be and helps me when I'm out on a mission."

You nodded keeping an eye on the machine on her chest, "Can you... take it off? Or will you disappear if you do?" you questioned. Lena laughed and pressed some buttons and took it off of her chest and placed it on the table beside her along with the magazine she was reading earlier.

"I can take it off, I just need to make sure I stay close to it." she grinned, "Or else it would be a bit hard to take a shower with, wont it?" you giggled when she made a face at you. You shifted slightly making the water move around you.

"Why... did you join Overwatch?" your question was so quiet that is Lena hadn't been listening she would have missed it.

"Well, love. That's a good question." you looked at her and gave her a crooked smile.

"I joined because I wanted to help people in any way I can. I think that even a small difference and lead to a big one!" she waved her arms in the air with excitement, "Don't you think the world needs more heroes!" You nodded enthusiastically, happy with her answer.

"I think being a hero is super cool!"

"Awh, shucks love." You giggled and kicked yourself off from the edge of the pool splashing Lena in the process.

"Oi! Come back here! You're gonna pay for that!"

 

 

 

"Winston, I brought you you're lunch!" you stepped into the messy room looking for the hairy scientist.

"[Name]! Over here." you smiled when you see your favorite gorilla sitting in front of multiple screens. You placed the tray of food at the free space besides him and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

"Uh, what are you working on?"

Winston grabbed one of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you brought him and pressed something on the screen in front of him. "I'm looking at the blueprints for some weapons that we may need and also checking over reports of the agents that have gotten back from missions. You looked at his face and saw that he had bags under his eyes. Which goes to show that everyone, even gorillas get tired.

"Why don't you take a break? You look like you need a nap." you suggested. Winston answered you with a grunt while placing the whole sandwich in his mouth. "Why do you work all the time?"

Winston paused from his typing and turned his head towards you and gave you a tired smile, "I do all this to make sure everyone is safe and that people outside of the base are safe as well." He raised his hand and patted your shoulder gently, "I just want the world to be safe so that everyone can live peacefully, [Name]." You nodded and raised your arms to wrap around his neck.

"Thank you for working so hard Winston." Winston grunted in surprise and hugged you back.

"Think nothing of it, [Name]."

 

 

 

"Then you place some gauze over the wound and it should be okay. If the patient moves too much the stitches my re-open so be sure to warn them about that." you nodded at Angela as you watched her patch up a agent in the medbay. You gave the agent some cream to put on their cuts for later and sent then out the doors. Angela hummed at you as she started to tidy up the workspace and sanitize the tools that she used. "You are getting very good at the basics [Name], you learn very quickly."

"Thanks Angela, I always find it really cool when you use your healing stick thing." you grinned at her and pointed to her staff that was stored to the side.

She shook her head and laughed, "Well, I'm glad I haven't been using it much as of late, which means that everyone is healthy and not in dire need of it." You nodded at her and smiled in agreement, it was nice that there were not many agents coming to the medbay as of late, which meant that everyone was healthy.

"Hey Angela?" you closed the medical kit and placed it where it belonged before turning towards the doctor and leaned on the table. "Why did you decide to become a doctor?"

Angela paused from what she was doing and looked at you and smiled, "I always had a passion for leaning about the human body and how it functions. And helping other people is always a plus, especially when they need it." she adjusted the papers that she was holding in her arms and hummed, "Medicine is a wonderful thing, but I love to find new ways to help others, new cures or practices."

You nodded and glanced to the side looking at the staff once more, "But you could have done that in a normal doctors office or lab. Why here?"

Angela walked over to you and patted your shoulder softly,  "I want to help people, [Name]. In any way I can. May it be being a doctor in a war or in a hospital. I want to protect what I think is right."

You looked up at her, unsure of what to say next and decided to remain quiet, "I guess you're right..."

"What is on your mind, [Name]?"

You shook your head and took a step back from her causing the hand on your shoulder to fall to her side, "I'm just trying to figure out why everyone here is... y'know... here. And what they gain from it." you sighed and scratched the back of your head, "So far everyone I've asked said they wanna protect others. Which makes sense I guess."

Angela chuckled and crossed her arms giving you an amused smile, "Everyone has their reasons for being here [Name]. But I would like to believe he share the same goal." Your lips turned up slightly and you nodded once more.

"I'm starting to see that now, thanks for answering me, Angela."

 

 

 

It was night and almost time for you to head to bed but before you could head into your room you stopped by Jesse's as per usual. You lounged on his bed watching him flip through the channels of the television before settling for some sappy drama. You poked him at his side to get his attention.

"Jesse?"

"Mmm? What is it sugar pie?" you shifted on the bed and moved closer to him.

"Can I ask you why you are here?"

"Well, this _is_ my room. 'Aint it?"

You puffed out your cheeks and slapped his arm lightly, "I meant why you are...here... and fighting?"

Jesse didn't take his eyes off of the program but answered your question. "Well sweet bee, I didn't really have choice when I came here."

You gave him a curious look urging him to continue. Jesse chuckled, "I was in a really bad place before I joined this little shin-dig. Did... lots of not so nice things..." He grunted and you latched onto one of his arms, squeezing it lightly.

"Reyes... Gabriel... He found me, I guess you can say he saved me. He caught me doing some things and brought me back here. Said I had a choice of working for him or spending the rest of my life in jail." Jesse ran his free hand though his hair, "'Course I took the best choice."

"So you chose to work here for him?"

"That's right, darlin'. There was no way I'd be spending the rest of my days rotting in some old jail cell." You giggled when he wiggled his eyebrows at you. "When I first started working here, I was a trouble maker, boy let me tell you. Reyes had a hard time trying to control me and I got punished a whole bunch too. making me clean the dang toilets, running an extra twenty laps around the track. Didn't really care for being here, all I saw this as a job for me, I guess."

"That's kinds sounds like a bummer though."

"It was. Nothing mattered to me, felt like I was a lifeless doll or some sort. Just doing as I was told, until it all changed."

You perked up when you hear the tone in his voice change into something light, "What happened?"

Jesse stared straight into the television, not focusing on the program that was playing and instead had a faraway look in his eyes, "On my way back from a mission I saw this _thing._ Swaddled up in some dirty rags around some rubble. Against my better judgment I took a look at it and found out it was a small babe." you remained quiet and held onto his arm, your grip becoming loose and your hands started to get sweaty. "Feeling sorry for the poor thing I brought it back with me, tried to hide it when I got back to the base but the damn thing decided to start crying. Reyes was beyond pissed and I sure as heck didn't know how to take care of a baby. Angela offered to take 'em from me but I declined."

You swallowed the lump that was stuck in your throat, directing your gaze to your lap, "It was pretty hard, the kid just kept crying and pooping everywhere. There were some times where I wanted to give up and give 'em to Angie but always stopped myself. But besides all the hassle of raising them and  teaching them a bunch of things, I saw that it was worth seeing the smile on their face."

"So... what changed then?" you whispered so quietly you didn't expect Jesse to hear you.

"Darlin'" you slowly looked up from your lap to meet Jesse's warm eyes and glowing smile, "I found you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! Sorry for the long delay!  
> For the past week or so I have been getting ready to move to another country by myself for work.  
> And I am now in Japan almost settled in!  
> I have Wi-Fi so I posted this chapter today!  
> Anyways, thank you to call who read this chapter and the previous ones and I hope you enjoyed reading!  
> This chapter was a bit more on the serious side, as in going a bit further with the relationship with the reader and Jesse.  
> I will be trying to update at least one ever two weeks. Work will be busy for me so I'll try my best!  
> Thank you for your understanding!  
> Until next time!


	28. Seven and a half Years: Information

"[Name]? Ya' in your room?" you hear the familiar drawl of your favorite cowboy come from behind your room door.

"Yeah! Just a second!" you scribble quickly into your note book, drawing some more diagrams and putting details into what you were working on. You were so into it that you didn't hear Jesse come up from behind your and tap your shoulder. you jumped out of your seat and quickly turned your head to face the bearded man.

"Jesse! I said, jus' a sec!" you scolded him, giving him a half hearted glare. Jesse shrugged and shook his head at you.

"Darlin' five already passed, and I aint' plannin' on standing outside forever." you blew him a raspberry and tapped your pencil on the table.

"So? What do you need?"

Jesse raised an eyebrow and rolled his shoulders making them crack softly, "Was gonna ask if you wanted to join me for a run or watch me shoot for a while?" You give him a deadpan look and shook your head.

"No thank you, I'd rather stay in my room than watch you shoot targets all day." you pouted at him, "You also won't let me touch any guns, so there is no point in me being there."

Jesse eyed you before sighing, "Well, suit yourself." he peered towards your notebook that was on the table, "Sweet potato, what are you working on over there?" He takes a step closer to your desk causing you to hastily slam your notebook shut and shove him in the chest to make him take a step back.

"Nunna' yer' bussiness, now git!" you shoo him away with the flick your wrists, "Go shoot yer' fancy guns n' such." Jesse stares at you as if he was trying to figure out what you were hiding but let it go when you kept flapping your hands for him to leave.

"I'll git', I'll git. You behave yourself now, honey pie."

"Yeah, yeah. You know I always will." you watch Jesse leave your room and once you see the door close you let out a breath that you didn't know you were holding. Opening your notebook once again you flipped through the pages, you were writing down all the agents in the base's strengths and weaknesses. What weapons they use and what they do when they are in battle. You picked up the pencil that you were holding before and continued to make notes on the current person you work working on.

_Jesse McCree, good with the gun, hell of a good shot. Usually works in the front lines._

_Weapons: Flash bang, Peacekeeper_

_Special: Deadeye_

You quietly continue to write, the sound of your pencil scratching against the paper could be heard in your room. You never know when you might need this, it better to make notes of everyone important now, it could come handy in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so so so SO much for reading and understanding my situation!  
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!  
> I want to think everyone for leaving a kudo (1000!? thats insane!) A bookmark or a comment! I always love to see your guys' feedback or even that you enjoyed!  
> I hope to see you in the next chapter!  
> Until then!


	29. Eight Years: Chit-Chat

It were times like these that you enjoyed time to yourself, you were situated in your normal spot on the top of the lookout overlooking the scenery with a book in your lap. It gave you time to think and reflect on the things that were going on in your life. Things have been going well with you, training with Genji was going as well as it could be. Running with Jack was getting more bearable and shooting with Gabriel was slowly becoming easier for you. You started thinking about what you would be doing in the future, the things that you were working on kept your mind off the things that were ongoing on your mind. Those things being when your loved ones would go out on missions and you having to worry about them coming back home injured or even them coming back home at all. While you were busy mulling over your thoughts you didn't notice that someone came up from behind you.

"I see you are keeping busy."

Yu nearly jumped out of your skin, if you weren't already being scared by various agents sneaking up on you. You placed one of your hands on your chest to calm your fast beating heart and turned your head towards the voice that startled you. "Ana, you scared me." Ana merely smiled and stood next you looking out of the large window you were sitting in front of. You both remain quiet, your eyes watching the sniper carefully.

"What brings you up here, [Name]?"

Sniffing you patted the book that was in your lap lightly trying to gather you thoughts before you answered. "I like to come up here and think." you gaze out the window and stare at the scenery below, "It helps me...de-stress? I guess." you gave her a shrug and a lopsided smile. Ana didn't look back at you and continued to look out the window her arms folded neatly behind her back.

"And what is it that is on your mind?"

You hum in thought directing your gaze back to the book on your lap, "I... can I be honest with you?" Ana glances over her shoulder to look at you before you continue.

"I want to know what is going on when people leave the base. I know they tell me that they are going on missions, but what kind. I'm not dumb. I know that they are doing some dangerous things because I sometimes see them come back with injuries. I've  been here all my life and people are still hiding things from me." you grip the edges of your book and stare at the print on the cover, "I know they want to keep me safe but...I want to help too."

Ana finally turns to you and takes a seat in front of your sitting form. "I will tell you what it going on, [Name]. I think that you are mature enough to understand the situation that is at hand." You look up at Ana with an indescribable look and wait patiently for her to talk.

"Everyone here is part of an organization that was made to protect those who need it. The missions we go on ensure the safety of the civilians and the higher ups. We are in a middle of a war, [Name]." you breath hitches, you knew that there was a war going on, you got that much but being told directly made you feel sick to your stomach.

"We are at war with some of the Omnics and are trying to push them back to make sure that no one else gets hurt, or gets hurt during the crossfire." you look up at Ana who looks at you evenly, her face calm and calculating.

"Is that... Is that why everyone is fighting?"

"Yes. Even Fareeha is training to become strong so she can fight alongside me and the others. She too, wants to keep everyone safe." you bite your bottom lip and look away to the side.

"Will I... ever get a chance to help out too?"

Ana give you a knowing smile and pats your head making you sniff, trying to help back the tears pricking at the corner of your eyes.

"There might come a day that you will have to, but for your sake I hope that day never comes." Ana drops her hand on your head and sits quietly beside you. The both of you sit in silence enjoying each other's presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I want to thank you for all reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
> I've been busy this past week with training and did not have any free time to update, but now its the weekend so I got some time now!  
> I'll be double updating this week too because Im not sure if I will be able to get another one out the next week.  
> I hope you all understand!


	30. Eight Years: Baking

The sound of the oven caught your attention and made you place the bowl and whisk you were holding on the table.

"Ah! The cookies are ready!" you wiped you hands on the apron you were wearing and grabbed some oven mitts that were hanging on a nearby hook. Carefully opening the oven you grabbed the tray full of peanut butter cookies and paced them on top of the stove and let them cool off. Today was one of the rare days you were free from doing anything. You had read all of your books, worked on your notes the night prior and had no responsibilities around the base. You decided to bake some things just for the heck of it. You had been watching videos and shows about baking on the television and computer you thought how hard would it be and gave it a try. Turns out you were really good at baking but the funny thing was that you didn't really like sweets so much. You were more of a savory kind of person. You grabbed the bowl and whisk from before and mixed the mixture a few times before placing it into a piping bad nearby. You had already made black forest cake, peanut butter cookies and were now working on making some lavender macaroons filled with chocolate ganache.

"Oi! What smells do goof in here?" you turned around and wiped the sweat that was starting to form on your brows with the back of your hand and faced the person who entered the room.

"Lena! Hi! I'm just bored so I decided to make some things!" you shrugged to the finished pastries on the table and picked up the piping bag filled with the macaroon mixture. Lena blinked next to you and watched you pipe the mixture on the silicone mat.

"What'cha making now, love?"

"Macaroons, I've tried making them a few times and they duding turn out so well, but I'm hoping this time they do." you finished piping the batter onto the mat and gave the tray a few taps to get rid of the bubbles. "Now they just need to rest for a bit before I put them in the oven."

Lena bounced with excitement and grabbed one of the cookies from the tray, "Ouch! That's hot!"

You shook your head at her and smiled, "Of course they are hot, they just came out of the oven, silly."

Lena shoved the hot cookie in her mouth and let out a groan of pleasure, "These aref sfo guuf!" You gave her a blank look before giggling.

"Uh, thanks Lena, I'm glad you like them. I think I might have made them a bit too sweet tough."

"No, no! They are perfect! [Name], you should bring these to dinner and share them with the team!" You scratched your arm and shrugged.

"Eh, I don't think they're _that_ good to share them with _everyone._ " you gestured to the baked goods, "I mean, I was just doing this cuz  I was bored... not like I'm a professional or something."

Lena shook her head and patted your shoulder, "Love, they are delicious! And I think everyone would be glad to have some at dinner!" you blushed at the praise and nodded your head quietly.

"O-okay, if you'll help me bring them out we can share them with everyone at dinner."

Lena jumped and clapped her hands together, "Yes! No need to worry love, I know they'll love it!"

* * *

 

During dinner everyone was enjoying their time together, the normal chatter were amongst them which was accompanied by laughter and giggling. Lena and you slipped off into the kitchen to grab the things you made and brought them back into the cafeteria hall and placed them on the table before everyone.

"What's this? A treat for us?" Reinhardt looked at the sweets eagerly and then at Lena who nodded and smiled.

"You got that right! Our little [Name] here made all of these today!" a soft chatter of 'oos' and 'ahhhs' rang through your ears. You blushed and rubbed the back of your neck with embarrassment.

"I-it was nothin' I wuz 'jus bored 'n all, 'n decided to bake 'n stuff. 'Aint nothin' special..." your habit of speaking like Jesse made the others laugh and praise you even more.

"Everything looks delicious [Name], would it be okay if we were to give some of them a taste?" Reinhardt nodded eagerly and nudged Lena who gave him a light whack on the shoulder.

You shifted a bit on your feet and nodded, "I guess so, why not?" Everyone cheered and grabbed a clean plate to put the desserts on. You grab a cookie and nibbled on it as you watched everyone dig into your pastries a small smile forming on your lips.

"Darlin'." a heavy weight on your shoulder caused you to grunt and almost drop you cookie.

"Jesse!"

Jesse plucked the cookie from your hand and placed the remaining in his mouth making you squawk with protest.

"'Ey! That there wuz my cookie Jesse!"

Jesse gave you a wink and ruffled your hair, "And its gosh darn delicious. Why haven't you told me you can bake like that honey bee?" You pouted and looked away at the cowboy.

"Thought you'd made fun of me for baking 'n stuff."

"I would never, [Name]. I'm very proud that you can make things like this, makes me happy to see you happy." Jesse glances towards the others who were eating the sweets. Lena fighting for the last of the peanut butter cookies with Winston and Ana eating a piece of cake with her daughter. "Also makes me happy to see everyone happy."

You looked up at Jesse, "I... make you happy Jesse?"

Jesse looked down at you and pulled you closer to his side, "You make me so damn happy, [Name]." you giggled and hugged him around the waist. Jesse returned the hug and patted your head while softly humming, "You have no idea how proud I am of you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the double update I promised!  
> Thank you all for reading and Im so happy that there are some people who enjoy reading my little story!  
> There's still lots more ahead, and I'm looking forward to share it with you guys!  
> Let me know how you liked the chapters!  
> Until next time!


	31. Eight Years: Birds and the Bees

You sit with Jesse on his bed reading a book while he watches his soap operas. You were reading about a girl and a boy and how they were in love but they were not allowed to be together because of their families. _Romeo and Juliet,_ you snorted, _more like a whiny girl and a stupid boy._ You got the book from Reinhardt who told you that it was a classic and that it would do you some good to read more (than you actually do). You flipped the page and idly read through the text. It was interesting sure, but there was a lot of things that made you confused. Especially when two people were in the bedroom together alone.

"Hey Jesse?"

Jesse lets out a soft grunt not taking is eyes off the television but telling you that he was listening. He took a sip of the drink that was in his hand and waited for you to continue talking.

"How are babies made?"

"Guurk!" he spat out the contents in his mouth and onto the comforter on the bed. You made a face and pushed the now wet comforter from your body.

"Gross, Jesse."

Jesse hastily wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and  placed the glass he was holding on his bed side table. "Now darlin' why in the world made you wonder about that?"

You blinked and held up the book you were reading, "In here they say a lot of things about people and what they do in the bedroom." You glanced up at him and tilted your head in curiosity, "What are they doing? Are they making babies?"

Jesse nervously rubbed the back of his neck and avoided making eye contact with you. He knew that he had to talk to you about the birds and the bees one day but he didn't think that it would be so soon. Man, he really want looking forward to explaining things to you.

"Well, 'ya see, hun. When a man and women love each other they like to... cuddle and then... babies are made..." you nodded an placed the book down on the bed and gave him your full attention.

"Is that all? There's nothing more?" you sniffed and looked at Jesse. "I thought it had something to do about their private parts or something?"

Jesse groaned and looked up at the ceiling screaming in his mind before looking back at you. "Okay, so when a man and woman love each other very much, the man puts his _penis_ in the woman's _vagina._ "

You blinked, "Okay. Then what."

"Then the man plants his _semen_ in the woman so that she can get pregnant..." Jesse was blushing, he had sex before, sure, but explaining it to a child was more embarassing for him than the actual thing.

"But Jesse. What if two men love each other? Or two women?"

Jesse balked, "Uh, well darlin' then they can still make love, but if they want to have babies they have to do it a bit differently."

You nodded vigorously, "What about babies not born in a person? How does that work?"

"Well, 'ya see..."

"Or can people adopt a baby if they don't wanna make love?"

"Of course they can, sweet pea but-"

"When will I get to make a baby? How old do I have to be?"

"I- I think 'yer a bit too young, honey pumpkin-"

You kept bombarding Jesse with questions that he didn't have the time to respond to all of them right away. With every question his face got hotter and hotter and his hands started getting clammy. You suddenly stopped and grinned at him making him look at you confused. You hopped off the bed and grabbed your book and walked towards the door.

"Thanks for telling me a bunch of stuff about sex Jesse!"

"Wait, hold on jus' a minute, what-"

You grinned cheekily at him and stepped towards the door making it slide open, "I was just kidding about not know about the birds and the bees, I know everything and how babies are made. Angela told me!" you waved him good bye not missing his bewildered face as you left. He could hear your laughter outside of the hallway making him let out a big sigh. He flopped onto the pillow behind him and groaned.

"They're going to kill me one day, I swear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time to see! Hope every one is doing well.  
> Thank you all so much for reading and for those who left a comment, kudo and bookmark!  
> Just a quick update on my end, things have been busy here.  
> I hope everyone stays safe and healthy.  
> Until next time!


	32. Nine Years: Surprise

You would say that today was a normal day. There was a lack in interaction with others due to their busy schedules but you have gotten used to it that you made sure to keep yourself busy so that you wouldn't bother them as well. You kept busy in your room, working on the notebook filled with information about others and designing some weapons you would like to make in the future. It was around seven at night that you started to get hungry and decided to go to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. On your way to the cafeteria you noticed that the halls were quieter than usual. There was literally no one in sight and the only thing you could hear were the sounds of the lights and the occasional flicker.

 _Weird... I wonder where everyone is...?_ you shrugged to yourself and continued towards the cafeteria. Once you arrived at the door you reached for the handle, pausing before opening it. There was something going on and you didn't know what, but you shook your head and cleared any thoughts of your paranoia away. The base was the safest place to be in, and nothing got through it, not with everyone here and on guard. You opened the door and was met with darkness. The whole room was dark.

"Um... H-hello?" you padded into the room slowly arms out in front of you to prevent you from bumping into anything, "Where are those lights... why the heck are they even off in the first place..." you grumble to yourself trying to walking in the dark. You hear the door behind you shut making you turn around quickly, "What the fu-?!"

"SURPRISE!"

the lights turned back on, blinding you for an instant as you blink to try and get used to the sudden change. You rub at your eyes and look at the people that were in the room. You stared at them dumbly and pointed at the banner above them that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!'

"Uhhh.... whose birthday is it??" you glanced at Lena who gave you a exasperated look. Jesse walked up to you and gave you a hug buring your face into his chest.

"Darlin' it's your birthday, this is all for ya'!"

"Itsf my birfhday?" you pushed your face away from the cowboy and looked around the room. The tables were filled with all your favorite types of food. Presents were neatly placed on the table beside it and a big cake was smack dab in the middle.

Lena jumped towards you and hugged your body, "Happy birthday love!" you thanked her and walked towards the group, each of them wishing you a happy birthday and patting you head or giving you a hug.

"Uh, wow guys this is great." you scratched the back of your head and gave them a crooked smile, "I mean, I've never had one before so this is nice."

Angela smiled softly at you and walked towards you handing you a tissue, you looked at her and the tissue she was holding in her hand with a questioning look.

"Wha? Why are you giving me tissue?" you blinked as you lifted your hands to your face and was surprised when you found your cheeks wet. "Wha-" you sniffed loudly and rubbed at your eyes. You were so overwhelmed by the surprise party and everyone being here for you, you didn't notice that you had started to cry.

"Have fun, [Name] today is your special day." you gratefully took the tissue from Angela and hugged her around the waist.

"Thank you Angela..." you murmured, she merely patted your head before ushering you to go and have fun. You ran towards Reinhardt who was having a go at the food and chatted with him, he passed you a plate full of food telling you to make sure to eat it all because you were still growing. You laughed and assured him you would try your best. As the party went on you chatted with everyone and thanked them profusely for making this party happen. It came to the point where music was turned on and everyone started to dance.

After having your fill of dancing with others you walked towards the table where Jesse was sitting and grinned at him.

"Having fun darlin'?"

You nodded and grabbed the glass of water on the table and gulped it down, "Yeah! Everything is great!" you looked at Jesse and bit the bottom of your lip, "Hey... thanks for this..." you motioned towards the people dancing and eating happily. "I really appreciate it y'know." Jesse doesn't say anything for a while before grunting and scratching his beard.

"I wanna 'pologize for not being with you for the past couple weeks. Been busy with missions and trying to sort this party out for 'ya." he gave you a chuckle.

You shook your head in understanding, "Nah, it's okay. I totally understand. It's just..." you smiled at the people on the make shift dance floor, "I never really had a birthday party before and I don't think it could have been more perfect." you watch as Reinhardt slips and falls on him bum making Angela scold him for not being careful and Lena laughing at the man. "I love spending time with everyone."

Jesse watches you quietly and takes a swig at this drink, "Darlin'."

"Mmm?" you hum and turn your attention towards Jesse, "What is it Jesse?"

Jesse stares into your eyes before sighing, "I just wanted to say you are growing so fast. Everything that you have been doing, helping out around the base, learning new things on your own or with help. I can't help but think the next time I get to see you you're gonna be bigger than me, and I'll be an ol' fart."

You giggle and raised your eyebrows at Jesse, "What are you saying? You are already an old fart Jesse."

Jesse scoffed and took off his hat and place it gently on the table, "All I'm trying to say is... [Name] I'm really proud of you."

You breath hitched for a second as you stared at the man you've known for your whole life, you rub at your eyes trying to hide the oncoming tears. "B-be quiet you...!" Jesse smiles gently at you and places a box in front of you.

"Heres'ma present for your birthday, [Name]." you sniffed loudly and shakily reached for the box.

"Wuzzit'?" you patted the big ribbon on the top which was poorly tied. You chuckled and eyed the gift wrap, "Wha' kinda wrappin' is this Jezze?" Jesse groaned and leaned back on his chair.

"Hey, I tried my hardest darlin' give a man a break."

You giggled again before tearing away at the paper and opened up the box. Your eyes sparked and mouth opened slightly hen you see what was inside. "Is this... for me?" you grabbed the item in the box and examined it in your hands.

Jesse nodded at you and smirked, "I thought it was pretty cool 'n all. I saw it on one of my missions and thought you'd like it."  he blinks, "You _do_ like it, yeh?"

You held the boomerang in your hands and brought it to your chest before looking up at Jesse, " _I love it._ "

Jesse lets out a sigh of relief, "How the heck am I gonna learn how to use this Jesse?!" you waved the boomerang around trying to test out how you would throw it. "I don't think anyone on the base know how to use this thing."

"Well, I guess that means we just have to learn how to use it together."

You smiled and nodded, "Sure! But wait..." you eyed him warily remembering the one time you and him tried to use the wooden practice swords in the training room, "Let's look it up on the internet before we try anything."

"Good idea darlin'." Jesse gets up from his chair and excuses himself to grab another drink, You nodded towards him and waved him off. You placed the boomerang back into the box and noticed that there was something under the tissues and wrapping paper in the bottom.

"What is this?" you carefully picked up a small pouch and opened it, emptying the contents in your hand. A small golden locket in the shape of a heart fell into your hand, you blinked and opened it slowly and nearly cried again when you saw what was inside. You placed the locket around your neck and held it in one hand against your chest.

"Damn, people are starting to get a bit rowdy, n' I think I've been the only one drinking any alcohol..." Jesse mutters as he takes a seat back in the chair is was occupying before. Before he would take a sip from his drink you tackle him with a hug around the waist.

"I love you, Jesse."

Jesse blinks but wraps his arms around you and squeezes you lightly, he sees the golden chain around your neck and smiles gently.

"Love you too,[Name]. With all my heart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all that read this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!  
> Things are slowly moving along and will be picking up soon!  
> Let me know what you guys think or what I should add, It would keep my on my toes and have more ideas for the later chapters!  
> Its been a pretty busy week for me, I'm officially starting work tomorrow and hope it goes well!  
> I'll try to keep posting at east once a week or once every two weeks!  
> Thanks you all again!  
> Until next time!


	33. Nine Years: Improvement

"Hyah!" you took another swing towards your opponent in hopes of landing a hit on them but your fist was met with air. You quickly jumped back and got into defensive stance, watching your opponent and waiting for their next move. Genji quickly takes a step forward and quickly turns on his heel catching you off guard. Before you could make a hit at him he quickly chops the back of your neck lightly making you fall to your knees.

"Oof!" you groan and slump forward face first into the ground. Genji stands straight and nods towards you.

"You're stance is getting better."

You slowly stand from the ground and dust yourself off, "Still want able to get a hit on you though..." you mumble softly as you dist your body from the fall. You sighed as you began to stretch out your arms and legs.

"When will I be able to land a hit on you Genji? You say I'm improving but it doesn't feel like I am." you shift your weight from one leg to the other as you stare at the man watching you stretch.

"In time, it will be a while until you are able to land a hit on me, but with the way you are progressing I'd say in a couple more years you will be able to." you baked and gave the cyborg a deadpan stare.

"Like, what? Ten more years? Gee, that seems so close." you huffed and walked back towards the bench that had all of your things and flopped on it ungracefully. You grabbed your water bottle and cracked it open taking a chug enjoying the coolness of the water run down your parched throat. You place the bottle down and reach into your bag and pulled out the present that Jesse had given you on your birthday. You only had a couple chances to play with it, which really was you throwing it in one of the big training rooms to make sure it doesn't hit anyone. You gripped it lightly in your hand testing out the weight of the boomerang, letting your fingers glide over the carvings on the top and bottom. Without noticing you raised the hand that was holding the boomerang and started to practice swinging it as if you were going to throw it. You felt that you were getting used to the weight of the wood in your hand and  had swung your arm back and let go of it.

"Ah-"

You watch the boomerang fly in the air, eyes following its movements, you see that it was going to hit your fighting teacher but before you could say anything it already had landed on him and somehow came flying back to you which you hastily caught in both of your hands. You quickly place the boomerang down on the bench beside you and stood up from your seat.

"Genji! Ohmygoshimsosorry!" you fidget in place wringing your shirt in your hands. "I didn't know that I had thrown it and I swear I wasn't aiming for you! I'm sorry!"

Genji ignores the sting coming from the back of his head ans turns to face you. You gulp and nervously stare at him waiting for him to scold your but the words that left his mouth surprised you.

"That will be a good weapon for you in the future."

You blink and tilt your head, "Um, excuse me?"

Genji nods to you and turns and heads towards the door, "Training is done for the day, get some rest and stay hydrated."

"Wait, what! Genji! I said I'm sorry!" You run after him as you plead him to continue with the training session as you apologize profusely saying that you won't throw the boomerang again when you are with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all who read and for those who have been very patient with me!  
> I'm busy basically all day on the weekdays with work but I'll always try to update ever week or two!  
> I hope you enjoyed reading and let me know what you think!  
> Until next time!


	34. Nine Years: Family

You flip the page of the book you were reading softly as you sat on your bed. It was just after dinner time and everyone had returned to their bedrooms to get some work done or to get some well deserved rest. You opted to sit in your bed and finish reading a book that Reinhardt had given you for your birthday. It was a story about a young boy who was adopted from an orphanage at a young age and how he was learning to trust the people that are around him and eventually call them family. You enjoyed reading this story because it reminded you of yourself. You were taking in at a young age and had somehow made a family with the people that were around you. You gaze off into the distance when your mind started to wander off. The boy in the story had aunts and uncles, grandparents and a mother and father. You think of yourself, Lena was like an aunt to you, and Reinhardt was like a grandpa at times. You giggle to yourself softly when you start thinking of all the other people in the base. You never really had much of a mother figure, maybe Angela was the closest to one. You frowned when you started to think of who would have been your father figure. Jesse's face flashes in your mind making you grunt out in surprise.

"Jesse... being my dad?" you grip the book in your hands and squint.

You think back to the times he had helped you when you have fallen and scrapped your knee. When he played with your and lifted you up on his shoulders. When you were scared to go to bed and he let you snuggle with him until you fell asleep. In a lot of ways Jesse was like a father to you.

"Jesse...dad..."

You scoffed and placed on of your hands on your chest where the locket hung from your neck.

"I wonder if I can call him my dad?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all who waited so long for this chapter!  
> Sorry for it being so short! Hopefully the next one will be longer!  
> As always I've been really busy and finally managed to make time to upload this!  
> I hope you all enjoyed!  
> If you have any comments, questions or concerns please let me know!  
> Until next time!


	35. Nine Years: Christmas

"'Tis the season to be jolly....hmmm~" you hum quietly to yourself as you roll out the dough onto the counter with a rolling pin. The Christmas season always made you happy and you loved baking Christmas sweets and treats for the team. You were currently making another batch of peppermint cookies to go along side the triple chocolate cake you made earlier in the morning. Things seemed to be slowing down in the base, you weren't sure if it was because of the Christmas season making the crime rate lower or if things were finally starting to shape up. Whatever it was it made you happy to know that your friends finally had some time to relax even just for a bit. You kept yourself busy in the kitchen by baking and cleaning the dishes when you waited for the sweet treats to bake in the oven. You perked up when you heard the door to the kitchen open and smiled when you saw Jesse swagger in.

"Hello there darl'" he walked up beside you and looked over your shoulder to see you scrubbing at the cake pan in the sink. "I see 'yer keeping busy." he glanced at the cupcakes that were on the table behind you and picked on up.

"Jesse, you know what I think about eating desserts before a proper meal." you scolded softly as you placed the pan under the running faucet to rinse off the grime. Jesse snickered at your tone and popped the cupcake into his mouth.

"What are 'ya my ma?"

You grunted and muttered under your breath, "I might as well should be dagnabit..." Jesse smirked and poked you in the side making you jump and let out a yelp of surprise.

"Argh! Jesse!" you had dropped the pan in the sink and turned to face the man that was smiling at you. "You gosh darn, sonofa-"

"Whoah there!" Jesse tapped your nose playfully, "Language there little fella."

You puffed your cheeks out in frustrated before smirking to yourself and flicking your wet fingers to his face, making him blink rapidly and sputter.

"Wha-! [Name]!"

You giggled and re-wet your hand under the water and did it again causing him to take a few steps back from you.

"That 'aint fair sugar, you have the advantage of water!"

You cackled and grinned,  "All is fair in love and war Jesse! Now come at me you cupcake stealing scoundrel!" Jesse made some noise of protest and continued backing away from you until he had hit a wall. He rubbed at his eyes to get the water away but when he opened them he saw you smiling at him evilly.

"Now... now... there's no need for violence..." he raised both of his hands in surrender. You took slow steps towards him, holding a cupcake in each of your hand.

"Since 'ya like my cupcakes so much, I 'reckon 'ya should have s'more!" with a battle cry you ran towards him and jumped, smashing the cupcakes onto his face making him groan. You laughed as you let go of the cupcakes and used your fingers to spread the frosting all over his face and beard. Jesse grunted when you hugged him around his waist and buried your head in his stomach.

"I say, this new look is absolutely ravishing on you Jesse." you teased. Jesse sighed and swiped a finger on his cheek, gathering the chocolate frosting and placing in into his mouth.

"I guess, this is what those face masks feel like." You looked up at him and burst out laughing at his lame joke and at how ridiculous he looked.

"Jesse, I don't think it looks like a face mask...." you stifle your laughter, "I'd say it looks more like...a dog had an accident..." Jesse groaned once more but joined your laughter, patting your head.

"Alright, let's go get cleaned before dinner starts." you nodded at him and followed him out of the kitchen. Almost half way to your room you remembered that you still had cookies in the oven.

"Wait! I'll meet you later! I forgot I'm still baking! See you Jesse!" making a quick U-turn you ran towards the kitchen in haste, praying your cookies were still okay.

* * *

 

It was now dinner time and everyone at the base had gathered in the cafeteria. Like most dinners it was filled with laughter and lots of talking but this time it was different. It was Christmas eve and everyone was dressed appropriately, meaning in pajamas or in ugly Christmas sweaters. Reinhardt always wore his Santa outfit which you secretly loved and Angela had dressed as an Angel. There was a feast set on the table, from savory turkey to freshly baked apple pie. The cafeteria had bed decorated at the beginning of December, Lena had been overly excited and insisted in putting up the decorations early this year. You chatted with Fareeha who was eating some of the cake you had made about  what she got everyone for Christmas. Your conversation was cut short when Santa Reinhardt yelled that it was now midnight and presents would be given by none other than Santa. Everyone laughed at how enthusiastic he was and sat arund the tables waiting for him to reach into his humongous bag and pull out a gift. There were the chatters of thank you's and your welcomes exchanged between people.

"NO way!" you ripped open the gift wrapper and stared at the box in your hands. "You made me a cell phone?!" You stared at Winston with stars in your eyes as you hand the box to your chest. "ThankyousomuchWinston!" you ran up to the scientist and tackled him into a hug. Winston laughed and patted your head telling you it was no problem, the proceeded to show you how it worked.

"[Name]! You shouldn't 'ave, lovey!" You were abruptly pulled away from the conversation you and Winston were having and  into the arms of Lena. "I love it! It's beautiful!" You glanced up at her and saw the gift that you had made for her around her neck.

"How did you know I wanted a scarf!?" You blushed and shrugged.

"It's nothing that special, just used some yarn and knitted it 'sall..." Lena shook her head and shook you by the shoulders.

"It's perfect and I love it! Thank you, love!" You were then pulled around by other people thanking you for the gifts you made them. Hats, scarves, sweaters, candles, soaps and treats.

Reinhardt handed you a couple more presents before announcing to everyone that there were no more to be handed out. Everyone was enjoying their new gifts and eating the holiday treats that were on the table. You hummed to yourself as you played with your new phone and transferred all the wrapping paper into an empty bag.

"Hm, what's this?" you picked up the small gift on the floor next to your foot and flipped it over to see if it had a name.

 

_To: [Name]_

 

_Love: Jesse_

 

You blinked at the gift in your hands confused, Jesse had already given you his present already. It was a pouch that could hold the boomerang he got you for your birthday. You didn't think he would have gotten you another one. Shrugging you walked to a quieter corner of the room and placed all your gifts by your feet before taking a seat on the floor. You placed the wrapped gift down gently on the table and stared at it for a moment. It was probably something funny, Jesse loved giving you random gifts. You remembered he had given you one along with the boomerang on your birthday, one of those chicken toys that screamed when you squeezed it. Taking the gift again in your hands you proceeded to tear away at the wrapping. It was odd, the wrapping seemed pretty decent this time around, Jesse usually tossed gifts into a bag or barely wrapped it. Once all the wrapping paper was gone you blinked. In your hands you help a frame. For some reason you had opened the gift backwards, you turned the frame to properly face you and sucked in a quick breath. You didn't notice the tears falling from your eyes until they fell onto the smooth glass of the frame.

You smiled at the picture, it was when you and Jesse were in the shooting range and you had hit the bulls eye. Lena had taken a picture of the two of you, you were excited that you had hit it and Jesse was smiling fondly at you, ruffling your hair. You remembered how he said he was so proud and that you were one step closer to become a stronger person. Unknown to him those words meant the world to you. You finally felt that you were a bit closer in protecting the people you love.

"Sweet bun?"

You sniffed and quickly wiped your tears away from your face, trying to make yourself look presentable.

"Whu-What is it Jesse?"

You didn't dare look up at him but felt him take a seat next to you. "Ah, I see you found the other gift." You pouted and punched his arm halfheartedly.

"Y'know, you can always give me gifts all at once and not separately..."

Jesse chuckled and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, "But what's the fun in that darl'?" He kissed the top of your head while you sighed and leaned into his hold.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" you mumbled, grabbing onto the sleeve of his sweater.

Jesse hummed and smiled, "You always do, but I don't mind hearing it over and over again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. Hello there all.  
> I have been away for a bit. And I would like to apologize.  
> Work as been very busy and I barely have time to work on some of the chapters of this story.  
> Let alone, open my computer.  
> But, eh, life. Am I right?  
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter! Im not sure when the next one will be out but I will try my best not to make it another month!  
> Thanks for all who have waited patiently!


	36. Ten Years: Blueprints

"Hey Winston?" you pick up a banana peel from the floor and toss it into the nearest trash can, wrinkling your nose in disgust. "You should really clean up after yourself, those can rot y'know." You hear Winston mumble something you didn't understand which made you walk closer to him. His eyes were glued onto the screen that was in front of him, the numbers and letters flashing by so quickly you had a hard time to believe he was actually reading it.

"Wintson?"

"What is it, [Name]?" he finally pulled his attention away from the monitors and turned on his chair to face you. You gave him a helpless  smile and motioned to the space around you. Winston blinked and looks to what you were motioning to and groaned. There were banana peels all over his room and a few of them were starting to smell.

"I guess it's about time I tidy up the place, huh?"

You snort at his question and raised an eyebrow, "About time?" You pointed to a trashcan that was full of banana peels and empty peanut butter jars, "I think that is an understatement." Winston laughed and patted your head with his big hand.

"You think you can help this messy gorilla?"

You giggled and nodded, picking up a trash can and  banana peel from the floor. "Of course I can Winston, I'm always happy to help."

For the next thirty minutes you spent with the gorilla you helped him tidy up his workspace and organized the papers that were scattered around the tables.

You let out a sign of content as you flopped onto a nearby chair and looked around the now clean room with a smile. "This is so much better." Winston nodded in agreement and took  seat in front of you.

"[Name], was there a reason for your visit, or did you just come to help me clean?" he as jokingly. You smiled and shook your head.

"Just felt like dropping by to say hello, the cleaning was a bonus~"

Winston laughed and watched as you shuffled in your seat, he noticed the pencil that was hooked on the collar of your shirt. You saw him and grinned, "I've actually been making a few sketches of something I want to make."

Winston perked and nodded towards you, telling you to continue. You grabbed your sketch book from your pocket and flipped to the page you were currently working on. "Here, this." You flipped the book to show him what it was.

"Ah, a boomerang." he adjusted his glasses on his face and nodded at your work, "Looks pretty good for a sketch, I could recommend some changes though."

You nodded excitedly, "Yes please! That would be wonderful!"You handed him your book and stood up to stand next to him while he imputed the information you had on the computer.

"You see, if we change this part here, I think it will benefit better." he pointed to the end of the boomerang, "We could make sure that these parts here have some sort of magnet, which can help the boomerang come back directly to your hand, making it easier for you to catch, if you were to use it when fighting." You stared at the computer screen in awe and nodded as you watched Winston point to various things and change what you had thought of originally. It was about two hours until you and Winston were happy with the final results for the blueprints.

"That was so fun!" you hugged Winston's arms and grinned, "I didn't know that by changing small things would make it so much more efficient!"

Winston chuckled, "Of course, it's always better to try out different things to see what works best for a person. You poked him in the arm and smiled.

"Would it be okay if I printed this out? I wanna put it on my wall! It looks really cool!"

"Of course, [Name]. Let me do that quickly for you."

"Thanks Winston!" you hummed softly as you wanted for him to print out the blue prints for the boomerang, you were going to put it up on your wall...

After you make a quick visit to Uncle Torb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!  
> Just a quick update! Hope you all enjoyed reading! :)  
> The next chapter will be a short one, but the one after will be worth the wait.... I hope.  
> Stay tuned for fluff and more fluff!
> 
> Also, check out my new story, (Un)Likely fairytale! It's a Hanzo x Reader one!  
> Gonna be trying something different for the story?? Maybe? I'm not sure yet, but it will pan out later!
> 
> Until next time! Love you guys!  
> Cheers!


	37. Ten Years: Planning

After hanging out with Winston you decided it was time for some food, you went to the cafeteria where you ate lunch with Ana and Fareeha. Chatting about how their training was going and what was going on with the missions. As always they kept it short but you enjoyed their company. On your way back to your room you decided to make a quick stop at Torbjörn's workshop. You knocked lightly at the closed door and waited patiently for a reply. When you got none you opened it and quietly slipped in.

"Torbjörn?" you walk around the messy workshop. You frowned at the mess. Were you going to have to help clean another room for the second time today? You didn't really mind helping but if this trend continued you might as well clean the whole base. Tip toeing around the scrap metal you called out again.

"Uncle Torbjörn?" you looked around to see if you could spot the shorter man but did not find any. Clutching the blueprints in your hands you slowly made your way to a table that was relatively clear from tools and scrap metal and placed the paper down, using your hand to smooth down the wrinkles and bringing some random tools and pieces tot eh corner of the paper so it wouldn't roll over. Glancing at the schematics of the boomerang you and Winston designed you grinned to yourself, if it was possible for you to make the weapon it would surely benefit you later on. Or so you hoped. Your eye trailed down the details of the paper and  fingers skimmed the sketches. You were so into looking over the blueprints you didn't notice the familiar bearded man come up from behind you.

"Ah! [Name]! I didn't hear you come in!"

You jumped at his voiced and accidentally banged your knee on the bottom of the table.

"Ah! Fu-ouch!" you held your sore knee and turned to Torbjörn. "Hi." you wiggled your free hand at him which made him grin.

"What brings you here? I don't remember ordering any more materials." you shook your head and glanced over the blue prints which made him walk over to the table.

"Ah, a boomerang eh?" he mumbled some words under his breath which you didn't quite catch, watching him curiously.

"So, uh. You think this is possible to make? Winston and I were having fun just designing this and I thought it would be cool to put up on my wall." Torbjörn looks at name with a calculating look before bursting out into laughter.

"You can make anything if you have the schematics and materials!" You nodded happily and waited for him to continue. He started to talk about what kind of metals and tools you would need and what would be better for certain fighting styles. He then showed you some similar things around the workshop. Your eye sparkled when he showed you a flamethrower he was working on and nodded excitedly when he asked if you wanted to see it in action. For the next hour or so you listened to Torbjörn talk about how the boomerang could be made, what you would need and what would be better for you if you were to ever use it. You even helped make a mini version of the boomerang, it fit in the palm of your hand just right and when you threw it, you were able to catch it easily.

"This is so cool! Uncle Torb!" You held the small boomerang in your hand before placing it in your pocket. Torbjörn nodded and huffed happily.

"I'm glad you had fun helping me make it! But [Name], yer too young to be holding weapons, let a long something as big as this!" he motioned to the blueprints you have on the table.

"I know! I know! I just thought it would be cool to have in my room, like a poster of sorts! It's not like I'm going to _really_ make one then go off to fight." you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms at him, "I'm not ready for any of that!" _Not yet at least..._

Torbjörn guffawed and patted you on the back, you thanked him again and grabbed the blueprints from the table rolling it up and taking it with you as you walked to the door. "I better get going, I promised Jesse I'd watch a movie with him and I have to visit Gabe for some training!" you waved to him and smiled.

"Next time I visit I'll help you tidy up you place! It's a mess!" before Torbjörn could reply you already ran out the door laughing loudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, oh Hi.  
> Its been a while, as always.  
> Sorry for not updating more!  
> Im currently working on the next chapter so it should be up later on today or maybe in this week!  
> I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!  
> If you like Hanzo go check out my new story! (shameless self advertising)   
> Until then!


	38. Ten Years: Father

"Im here!" you ran though the training room doors and hastily placed your blueprints on a nearby bench. Gabriel didn't bother turning to you and continued to lift the weights he was holding.

"You're late."

You pouted and walked over to where he was and picked up some lighter weights and grunted. "I'm here now, doesn't that matter?" you replied haughtily.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at you, "Don't talk back to me."

"I wasn't."

"You sound like a whiny child."

You scoffed and raised you arm to your chest groaning silently when you felt the pressure of the weights in your arms, "I'm ten."

"More like five."

You rolled your eyes and blew a raspberry at him continuing your work out silently beside him. After a couple of reps later Gabriel motioned with his head for you to follow him. The two of you were at the shooting range and both of you wordlessly got ready, putting on the protective gear.

"You think I can get three shots in a row today?" you asked as you adjusted the protective glasses on your eyes. Gabriel snorted and handed you a small pistol and ammo.

"You wish, your aim is absolute crap."

"Hey! I think I'm getting better!" you took the gun and ammo from him and walked over to en empty booth. You glanced over your shoulder at him again silently asking him for permission to load the gun. He nodded and watched you quietly with his arms crossed. With surprising dexterity for a ten year old, you quickly loaded the gun and got into your shooting stance. After a couple of seconds you proceeded to shoot at the target, and miss more than half of the time. Once your round was done you unloaded the gun and placed the parts on the table in front of you. You took off the protective ear gear and hung them on your neck, scratching the back of your head in frustration.

"Agh, I can't ever seem to aim at the same place! It always hits where I don't want it to hit!" Gabriel raised an eyebrow at you.

"You only aim for the head. That's why you miss, it's a smaller target."

You gave him a look and ran your fingers through your hair, "But if I do hit the head, the target will go down right away! Isn't that what matters?"

"The body is a better target for a beginner like you. Bigger area and it's better to wound someone and then try to make a getaway for sure than to try and aim for their head and having the change of them getting to you first." you sighed at his words and watched as he walked up to the shooting range, he raised his gun with one hand and shot at the chest right at the heart.

"Show off." you muttered while grinning at him. Gabriel turned to you and smirked before finishing his rounds.

The two of you now sat beside each other at the benches in the shooting range. You took a noisy slurp at your juice box making Gabriel cringe at the noise.

"Hey... do you have family....?" you questioned softly, keeping your eyes ont he now empty juice box in your hand. Gabriel blinked and gave your a slight nod.

"I did. They are gone now."

"Oh. Um... so like you had a mom and dad 'n stuff?"

"Yeah." Gabriel turned his head to take a good look at you. Your hands were fiddling around with the straw that was poking out from the juice box, eyes seemed to stare off into space. "Why you asking?"

You give him a half hearted shrug, "I dunno, I was jus' wondern'..."

"Do you want one?"

At his question your head shot up to look at him with a shocked look that quickly changed to a look of confliction. "No! I mean, yeah. But, not really..." You huffed and placed the juice box beside you as you leaned back and crossed your arms. "I mean, I kinda already have a family. Here at the base, I think that everyone is sorta like my family. Just not blood related or anything." You smiled at the thought.

"But it's not really the same, is it?"

You opened your mouth to protest but closed it when you couldn't think of anything, he was right. The type of family you were thinking of was the ones you saw on television. With a mom and dad and a couple of siblings. You had a family here at the base, yeah you loved them to bits but it wasn't what you were really yearning for. "I mean, I never really knew my Mom or Dad... Whenever I ask Jesse 'bout them he always says he found me and that's it..."

Gabriel hummed, "You think Jesse could be your Dad?"

You sputtered in shock, "W-what?! No! I mean, he's the one that takes care of me, who found me 'nd stuff... and says he loves me everyday..." your voice started to trail off, your rebuttal to the question he asked you was not making sense even to you. ?"I guess he kinda is... but we never really... said anything about it." you looked at Gabriel with a crooked smile, "I mean, I always call him Jesse and he never corrects me or anything."

Gabriel quirks an eyebrow up, he sighs loudly and shook his head, muttering some Spanish under his breath, "Jesus, you both really _are_ the same." You let out a confused 'what?' before Gabriel stands and pats you on the head softly. "Go talk to him, yeah?" you blink as you watch him walk away and out the door, quietly humming to yourself in thought.

* * *

 

After taking a quick shower in your room you headed to Jesse's to have your weekly movie night with him. You open the door to see him place a bowl of popcorn on the table.

"Jesse, I'm here."

"'Bout time sweetheart, be a doll and grab some drinks for me in the fridge." you nodded and walked towards the mini fridge he had set in the corner of his room. You grabbed two cans of cola and brought them to him and placed them beside the bowl of popcorn.

"Whatta're we gonna watch tonight Jesse?" you flopped onto the couch next to him and shifted to get comfy. Jesse raised the holopad in his hands and swiped through some titles before tapping on one.

"Lassie."

"You know how I feel about animal movies Jessie!" you grumbled and grabbed a blanket that was handing off the edge of the couches arm and flipped it open to place it on Jesse's and your lap.

"I know you cry like a baby every time you see one sweetbun~"

"You're horrible, you love to see me in pain."

He ruffled your hair and leaned back letting out a soft chuckle, "It just shows that you have a big heart darl'" The two of you settle and watch the screen quietly. With the occasional question of, 'what's happening' and 'whose that guy' were exchanged. About half way through the movie you started to tear up, making Jesse laugh and wrap an arm around you in comfort making you squawk in protest but snuggle closer to him. The can of pop were already emptied and the bowl of popcorn was half full and placed steadily on Jesse's lap. You tapped Jesse's arm, eyes never leaving the screen, the part you were watching was so intense you didn't notice the words that came out of your mouth.

"Hey Dad, can you pass me the popcorn?"

You hear Jesse let out a startled choke before registering what you just said. Your face heated up and you started to stutter out an apology.

"U-uh! I mean. Jesse- ugh pass the popcorn...please..." you avoid looking at him as your pointed to the popcorn bowl on his lap lamely. You let out a muffled gasp when Jesse wrapped his arms around your making the bowl of popcorn fall to the floor. You while softly trying to get out of his embrace but quickly gave up when you could not. Patting his bicep lightly you exhaled.

"J-Jesse, leggo..."

The grip he had on you tightened slightly making you shift in mild discomfort.

"Jesse..."

"I love you so much, [Name]. With all of my heart."

You blinked once then again, trying to get the tears to stop falling from your eyes. Your face was hot with embarrassment as happy tears now freely flowed down your cheeks. You bring your arms to hug him back, squeezing him tightly as you started to laugh and sniff loudly.

"You're so stupid, I love you too..."

 

_Dad._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLYY!! ITS BEEN DONE AND SAID.  
> READER FINALLY CALLED JESSE DAD. WOWIE THAT TOOK A WHILE.  
> I've actually had this scene ready for a long time and was just waiting for the right moment to write it!  
> Things are now going to get more serious.  
> As in, more angst. Reader is in for a wild ride and the fall of Overwatch is coming close.  
> But not too close? Who knows?  
> Anyways, thank you for all who read this chapter, those who have supported me so far and those who are just starting to get into this little story!  
> I hope you all enjoyed and I'll try my darnest to get the next one out...  
> Until next time!


	39. Ten Years: Useless

You grunted as you fell onto your stomach in attempt to avoid falling debris. Taking a sharp breath you crawled towards the closest thing you can call 'cover' while ignoring the pain coming from your left arm. You somehow managed to get behind a flipped car and some broken concrete in attempt to regain your breath. You checked the gash o your arm, wincing when your fingers grazed the cut softly. _I'm going to have to try and patch this up before it gets any worse..._ A loud explosion quickly brought you out of your thoughts making you jolt in surprise. You slowly started to stand, ignoring the pain in your legs and shortness of breath. You had to find a safer place to hide, or else you would die out here.

 

 

* * *

 

"'Mornin, darlin'" you rubbed your eyes sleepily as you shuffled past Jesse in the cafeteria, letting out a big yawn when you placed the glass of orange juice down on the table.

"G'morn' Jesse..." with a soft 'fwump' you sat next to the bearded man and took a small sip of your drink. Jesse raised an eyebrow at you.

"Sugar pea, ya' be lookin' like death." you halfheartedly glared at him and gave him a poke at the side which made him shift slightly in his seat.

"I jus' woke up, whattya think I should look like?" Jesse chuckled softly before ruffling your hair.

"I think ya' should be looking like you struck gold, cuz' I'm gonna be taking you out today."

You took a other sip of your orange juice, humming distractedly at him before blinking and spitting your drink out. "Excuse me?"

Jesse grinned, "Ya' heard me right, were gonna go out in the town for a bit, and I figured you'd like to come along and accompany Jack, Angela n' I."

You wiped the liquid dribbling from your mouth with the back of your hand, staring at the cowboy with big eyes. "Shut up."

Jesse gave you an unimpressed look at your reaction.

"Shut up... Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!!" You stood from your seat bumping into the table and making your glass spill. "No way! Are you for real?!"

"You better clean that up before you go, or else Reyes will see and get angry." he eyes your spilt orange juice on the table before getting up himself and walking towards the door. "Be ready in ten, honey butter~"

You stared at Jesse as he left the room, you mouth still wide open in disbelief. "Wait, what. Jesse, you can't just tell me that and walk away you big meanie!" You run out the door to give the cowboy a piece of your mind. You footsteps slowly fading down the hallway away from the cafeteria. A couple of seconds later they could  be heard running back towards the door. You opened the cafeteria door and swiped form paper towels from the side, wiping up the orange juice you spilt and quickly putting the glass back where it belonged.

"Jesse, git' back 'ere you and explain properly!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Jesse said, after ten minutes he was at your room telling you to come with him to meet Jack and Angela at the doors. You were hopping with excitement when you arrived which caused the other two to laugh.

"Alright, [Name]. You have everything I told you to get?" Angela checked you over her eyes lingering on the backpack on your back. You nodded enthusiastically and grinned at her.

"Yup! I brought the first aid kit you gave me! I don't know why you want me to bring it though, since we are just going to go for some supplies 'n stuff Angie." Angela gave you a look making you smile bashfully at her.

"Better safe than sorry, I always say." you nodded at her and patted you backpack.

"Don't worry Angela, I brought it. I even brought some snacks and water if we get hungry!" _Also my boomerang and a switch blade I ~~took~~ borrowed from Rey Rey. But they don't need to know that._

Angela smiled gently at you, "Kid, you know we are only going to be outside for a couple of minutes, twenty at the least." Jack stated as he checked his gear and list of what was needed.

"I know! But this is going to be the first time since I was small that I'll be going out! I've been wanting this for a while now,   can't help but to be excited!"

"Alright sugar bear, let's not get too excited. Remember all the rules we talked about for when we go out." Jesse crossed his arms and gave you his _dad_ look.

You rolled your eyes, "Okay, _Dad_. I remember." you sarcastically replied but Jesse smiled at the term of endearment.

"Alright, If you are all ready lets head out, I don't want to be away from the base longer than anticipated." You nodded at Jack and grabbed Jesse's hand looking up at him and grinning. He gave your land a light squeeze before the four of you walked out of the base.

 

 

 

 

You don't know how it happened. You were walking together, hand in hand with Jesse before you all heard a loud explosion. All of a sudden you are alone and under a pile of rubble. In your state of confusion and panic your frantically tried to crawl out but your left arm got caught on some broken glass. Once you were out you found out that you also managed to sprain one of your ankles. So here you were, now hiding in an abandoned broken building. A deep cut on your arm and a sprained ankle, no one to help you, all alone. You had managed to stay calm when running from explosions and blasts and had found a place you deemed safe enough for you to rest for even just a bit. The adrenaline that you had was starting to wear off and you felt your body start to ache all over.

"What is happening...What am I going to do...?" you had started mumbling to yourself, not noticing the tears falling from your eyes. You stared down at your injured arm blankly, watching the blood run down to your fingertips.

"What am I going to do...? What am I going to do...?" a sob left your lips unwillingly not even bothering to wipe away the tears falling from your eyes. 

 

 

_I'm going to die. I'm going to die out here._

 

You hear some heavy metal steps in the distance making you snap out of your hysteria. You held your breath trying to stay as quiet as you could, the steps only getting louder as they came closer.

 

 

_Move._

 

Omnics.

 

 

Gunshots were heard which were followed by screams and more gunshots.

 

 

_Move._

 

Omnics.

 

 

A chill ran down your spine, eye darting left and right frantically looking for a place to exit.

 

 

_Move._

 

They're getting closer.

 

 

You breathing slowed as you shakily stood up, hefting your dirtied backpack on your back. You hear some yells then some robotic sounds. You see red dots across the wall from you.

 

 

_MOVE._

 

 You took a step and then another, ignoring the pain and how your legs felt like they weighed a ton. You nearly tripped on a slab of broken concrete but caught yourself and ran towards the exit you saw before. Gunshots were shot where you once were hiding, the walls falling when the bullets made contact. You didn't bother looking back, you just kept running. Looking straight ahead of you. You didn't know how long you were running for, but your lungs felt like they were on fire. You legs felt numb, your arm throbbing with every step you took.

 

 

_Run. Don't look back._

 

Tears whipped against your cheeks as you passed a body on the street. More joined them when you kept seeing more.

 

 

_Stupid. You're stupid._

 

 

A frustrated cry left your lips as you jumped onto an abandoned car to get across the broken street. When you landed a sharp pain ran up your sprained ankle.

 

 

_You thought you were strong._

Ducking down again to avoid another blast, joining other survivors who were also running for their lives.

 

 

_You thought you could fight._

 

 

You sobbed as you watched from the corner of your eye a survivor get shot and fall onto the ground. Crying for them but not stopping once so you can try and save yourself.

 

 

_You thought you could protect the ones you love._

 

"Please somebody, help me!" a cry for help, screams then gunshots. You close your eyes, as if it could block out the pleads of help. You run into another abandoned building, this time far away from all the destruction and war. You breathed heavily, falling to your knees hunching over to try and catch your breath. Fresh tears falling from your eyes and onto the floor under you, you let out a anguished wail as you hit the ground with your uninjured hand in frustration.

 

 

_You can't even protect yourself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, oh boy.  
> You have no idea how long I've been wanting to write this chapter. From the beginning I've had this chapter planned out and was waiting for the time to come to write it. And here it is. I turned out pretty well, better than I had originally planned it!  
> I want to say sorry for the long wait for chapters as well. I've been busy with work and life and have had no time to relax and actually sit down and write.  
> I cant promise more frequent updates but I assure you this story will be completed, just... slowly.  
> Thank you for all who have stuck with me since the beginning and for all who are joining and reading this silly little story of mine.  
> I hope you all enjoyed reading it! I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter and what might happen in the next!  
> Until next time!


	40. Ten Years: Frantic

The sounds of guns reloading and smell of burning metal filled the air. Jesse was exhausted, pissed and most of all scared. His baby was missing and he didn't know where they were. He shot at another omnic from his side before running and taking down a couple more before reloading his gun. When they saw people running towards them they all knew that something was wrong. Angela had quickly tended to those who were injured and Jack had protected some of the civilians from harm, directing them to the nearest safe place. Jesse had gripped your hand so tight  he might have left some bruises but that were the lease of his worries. He had to get you out of here and some place safe. In all the ruckus and commotion he had lost you in the sea of panicking civilians, trying to protect everyone and watch over you at the same time turned out to be harder than it should have been.

He lost you.

You could be hurt, or even worse... _dead._

Jesse let an anguished yell leave his mouth as he shot three omnic soldiers  in the head, rolling away and reloading to take down three more. While he was reloading a gain a group of omnics surrounded him causing him to le tout a snarl and throw down a flash bang before punching them with his metal arm.

"'Git outta my fuckin' way! 'Aint go no time fer ya'!" a loud pang was heard with each punch he took at the robots.

"Jesse, that's enough, its down."

Jesse ignored the voice of his superior and continued to punch at the metal face below him. Angela looked at Jesse with sad understanding eyes.

"McCree, I said that's enough!" Jack grabbed his arm in mid punch, causing Jesse to whip his head back at him and yank his arm away from the super soldiers hold.

"Jesse, I know your worried about [Name]but we have to rational. There are too many people that are in danger and we have the responsibility to help them in any way we can." Angela said softly trying to calm the cowboy down.

Jesse grunted and glared at the omnics on the ground, "I'm sorry Angie but I couldn't care less about everyone else. Unlike you I don't have an clean record of helping people. I work for Blackwatch for God's sake." Jesse lifted his head to stare straight into both of their eyes, "I'm no hero."

Jack huffed through his nose, annoyed, "Whether or not you work for me or Reyes is one thing but we have a bigger problem. Omnic forces are attacking and we have to clear out the area until back up arrives. Until then, you answer to me. Do you understand, soldier?" Jesse suppressed his snarl and turned his back at Jack spinning his gun in his hands reloading it quickly.

"Lead the way, partner."

Angela sighed softly at the two stubborn men in front of her, feeling helpless that she couldn't help more but said nothing. Following them towards more gunfire and commotion ready to support them in any way she can.

Jesse took angry steps as he unloaded his gun at the enemies, not flinching at the sounds of broken wires short circuiting or cries of fallen soldiers and civilians. He needed to find his baby, dead or alive. For his sake he hoped it was the latter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small chapter with Jesse and what he is going through.  
> Poor cowboy, boy is he stressed.  
> Thank you for all who read the last chapter! And thank you to those who read this one!  
> I hope you all enjoyed and look forward to what is coming next!  
> Until next time!


	41. Ten Years: Survivor

It has been three days since you lost Jesse. Three days since you had a good rest and enough food to eat. You had managed to patch up your arm the best you can with the supplies you had, thanking Angela for making you bring the first aid kit with you. You were also relieved that you brought some bottles of water and snacks for the outing, it came in handy now more than ever. You had spent the first day crying, telling yourself that you were going to die and Jesse was going to find your body somewhere. The second day was a bit easier, you had come to terms with yourself that you were worthless but were able to survive somehow by hiding. You mind became less muddled and actually started thinking of how to get back to the base or at least to find some place to hide until someone found you. On the third day you were running from abandoned building to abandoned building, looking for some food or supplies left by other people in all the commotion. You managed to find some half empty bottles of water and granola bars on the floor of someone's house, even some extra materials for your first aid kit. The bodies that you passed still bothered you and you tried not to look at them when you saw one but couldn't help but cry when you did. You had found a place you deemed safest out of all the other places you went to, it looked like a military building of some sort. You saw soldiers littered on the ground with guns strapped on their bodies, the uniforms they had were stained with blood. You ventured around the place, trying to find some sort of weapon to keep you safe in case something came to attack you and you had to defend yourself. You only managed to find a small pistol with two bullets and some scraps of metal lying around which you had made into a make shift sling shot of some sort. You collected broken pieces of glass and metal that acted as materials you can load the sling shot with.

So here you were, in one of the rooms of a former soldier. It had a decent sized bed, albeit dirty but you weren't one to complain. The place was deserted besides the bodies that were on the ground scattered around the place but it was better than nothing. You had remained as calm as you could when you walked around in order to find more materials or food, you good hand holding the pistol and your injured hand on the locket around your neck. Today you decided to go out of the building to see if you could find a route that would lead you back to the base, or at least closer to it. You ended up not finding anything it the the couple hours you were out and were making your way back to the building for safety before you head a cry for help. Against your better judgment you paused and turned your head to where the cry had been coming from.

_A survivor? In this part of the area?_

You legs started to take you closer to the call, you mind was telling you what you were doing was stupid and that you could die but your body had a mind of its own. You end up in front of an apartment complex that had been destroyed from an earlier blast. The levels had caved in on themselves and walls riddled with bullet holes. You hid behind a slab of concrete looking around to see if there were any immediate danger.

"Help! Is anyone t-there?"

A shiver went down your spine, _it was a kid._

"P-please! I'm stuck! P-please I'm scared... is anyone there...?"

You body went into overdrive, feet taking you into the broken complex, eyes frantically searching for the child that was calling for help. _Where- where are they?!_ Your hands started to dig around the broken walls, moving charred doors and breaking collapsed windows.

"Where-! Where are you?!" you voice cracked helplessly, "I'm here!"

You were met with silence making you sweat, you could feel the tears form in your eyes. _Was I too late? Are they- are they gone...?_

 _"_ -ere! Over here! P-please!"

You head whipped to the left, your gaze immediately zoning in on a pile of wood and concrete. You ran towards it and immediately started to clear the debris, you hands got caught on the splintered wood and glass but you didn't stop, ignoring the blood coming from your hands. _I'm here. I'm here._

With a loud groan you pushed away the broken wooden door to reveal a child that was no older than five. His teary eyed gaze made your breath hitch as you lifted your arms towards him. You let out a breathy sigh as his body collided with yours, arms closing around his figure.

" _I'm here."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter and look forward to the next!  
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments!  
> Until next time!


	42. Ten Years: Trust

 

"Wally, you need to stop moving or else I won't be able to finish changing the bandages." you scold softly.

 

"S-sorry [Name]... it just. I-it hurts a lot..." the boy that you had found two days ago wiggled uncomfortably on the bed, tears falling from his chubby cheeks and onto your hand. You patted his head in attempts to soothe him and gave him a soft smile.

 

"I know but if you don't hold still it will only get worse. I know it hurts but you have to try and be strong, okay?" a loud sniff was your only reply which you took as an okay to continue. A couple of minutes later you leaned back and patted him on the back. "All done."

 

Wally nodded silently and shifted closer to you, wrapping his small arms around your body. A small 'thank you' was mumbled into your side which you responded with a soft pat to his head.

 

When you had found him two days ago and he flung himself into your arms, you never experienced such an emotion before. It was a mix between happiness, being relieved and a sense of anxiety. You quickly took him with you back to where you were staying, making sure to cover his eyes when you saw any bodies and brought him into the room. The two of you slept together, huddled under the blankets. His grip never loosening from your shirt and your arms not letting go of your hold around him. You had found out that he had been separated from his parents and had been trapped under the debris for around two days. He had a large cut on his leg, making it hard for him to walk properly. He had eaten the snacks you gave him so fast that he almost chocked causing you to scold him and tell him to drink the water you gave him. You never said that you would be able to find his parents but he never asked you about it, which made you worry about his mental state.

 

"Wally, do you know what happened to your parents...?" Wally shifted at your side as you feel his grip tighten on you. "Wally, I know it's hard but I need to know."

 

"-ft me..."

 

"Wally?"

 

"I think they left me... they ran and told me to stay put... they left me all alone..." He lifted his head to look at you sadly, tears once again falling from his eyes, "[Name], they left me there. They didn't want me anymore..."

 

You stared at the boy and lifted one had to wipe away the tears, "They did not leave you."

 

"They did!"

 

"Wally."

 

"They didn't want me! They just ran away, telling me to stay!"

 

"It's not true."

 

"They said they would come back! [Name]..." he let out a sob, "They didn't..."

 

"Wally." you stroked his hair, "Wally look at me." the young boy hiccupped and looked at you through his tears.

 

"They did not leave you."

 

"But-!"

 

"Listen." he immediately closed his mouth and sniffed, "They were trying to keep you safe. I know it may not seem like it but..." you wiped away more tears from his cheek, "They wanted to protect you. I know it seems like they didn't, but they _did_."

 

"[N-Name]..."

 

"Trust me, yeah?"

 

Wally nodded his head shakily and buried his head in your stomach sniffle loudly. "I can't promise to find them for you, but I do promise to keep you safe." You rubbed his back and smiled softly to yourself, "As long as I'm alive, I'll try and keep you safe, I promise you Wally."

 

"I- I trust you [Name]..."

 

_Thank you for trusting me... I'll do my best for you, it's the least I can do..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter! The next one will be a bit longer, because I plan on more things to happen!  
> Thank you for all who read and I hope you enjoyed reading!  
> Until next time!


	43. Ten Years: Scarred

After your moment with Wally you decided it would be best for the both of you to try and move to a different location in hopes of getting closer to the base or finding someone who can help. You had packed all the essentials you needed, the first aid kit in your bag, pistol attached to your hip along with your boomerang and your makeshift slingshot hanging on the outside of your bag. Wally's bag contained some extra medical supplies like, gauze and bandages and water and food. Before the two of you left the building you made sure to tell Wally what to do if something were to go wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

_"Wally, when we go outside, I want you to stay close to me." the boy nodded nervously and grabbed your hand. "If something were to happen to me, you need to run. Run far away from me, okay?"_

_"B-but!"_

_You shook your head and kneeled down to him, your freehand stroking his hair softly, "If something happens to me, you need to run away, do you understand?"_

_Wally sniffed, tears forming in his eyes, "I- I under- understand..."_

_You smiled sadly, "I know you're scared, but you need to be strong. Once we step out of this room there are going to be some scary things. I know you don't want to see them..." you trailed off, thinking about all the bodies that were in the building. "But nothing will happen to you, do you trust me?"_

_Wally sniffed and nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes, "I- I trust you."_

_"Okay, let's go."_

 

 

 

 

When you had exited the room, Wally screamed and buried his face into your side, you said nothing as you wrapped an arm around him and led him towards the exit.

 

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that a child so young has to experience seeing a dead body. For sure, he will be scarred for life and develop post traumatic stress disorder. The innocence he has slowly disappearing after each body you pass. His cries got quieter and eventually he was able to pry his face from your side, trying to ignore the bodies but still clutching your hand tightly. The tears from his eyes did not stop however.

 

 _What did he do to deserve something like this... he's just a child..._ Your mind wandered off while you quickly maneuvered both of your bodies outside, hiding behind broken buildings, cars and fallen cement. You almost chuckled to yourself, are you not a child as well? You didn't feel like one. You knew the place that you grew up in was not normal for a kid. Being surrounded by soldiers, weapons and war made you grow up and mature much faster than it should have. You learned about what is important to you when you were seven years old. You learned how to hold a gun when you were seven and a half. Hell, you already knew the basics of first aid and were training before you were even eight. You had to grow up fast, because it would be more beneficial for the people that are around you, for them to not worry so much about your well being. You learned how to take care of yourself.

 

 

 

_But you are just a child as well._

 

 

You couldn't be a child in this world, not when it was like this. Filled with war and conflict. You had to learn how to be strong.

 

 

 

_But you are just a child._

 

A loud crash caught your attention making you stop in your tracks and grab Wally by the shoulders, quickly steering him to the nearest hiding spot. You covered his body with yours, lifting a finger to your lips. Wally's eyes grew big and scared but he nodded covering his mouth with his hands.

 

Loud laughter filled the air which was followed by the sounds of metal hitting metal. You slowly peeked out from your spot to see what it was. There were three men making their way towards them and it looked like they were armed. You heard the tallest one say something to the smaller one which made them all laugh obnoxiously and hit some fallen debris with the metal pole they were holding. They looked like trouble, a couple of survivors that looked like ex-military from the looks of their uniform. You remembered where you had seen it, it was the same uniform that had been on those who were at the building you had been staying in. Your stomach twisted thinking of what may have happened but pushed it aside. You quickly ducked back down and looked at Wally's shaking body. He knew something was wrong and what you were going to ask him to do.

 

With a hushed voice you whispered to him, looking him in the eyes, "Wally."

 

He shook his head, tears falling from his eyes faster than before, " _Wally."_

"I- I can't-!"

 

"You have to and you _will._ " You smiled softly at him, "I want you to stay here." his eyes widened as he stared up at you, the faces of his parents saying the same thing to him flashed before his eyes.

 

"N-no! Not again!"

 

You hushed him, patting his cheek softly trying to get him to focus, "Wally, _listen._ I want you to stay here, I will go out and distract them when I tell you, I want you to run that way." you pointed to the left and towards a small alleyway. "Keep going straight and it will lead you to a bigger building, you might be able to find some survivors there."

 

"[N-Name]..."

 

"I'll be right behind you, don't worry." you pulled him to your chest and kissed the top of his head softly, "Trust me."

 

Wally nodded and wrapped his small arms around you, tears staining the front of your shirt, "A-Always..." you pulled away and nodded at him moving to a different hiding place so you can appear behind the men. Taking a deep breath you stepped out of your hiding spot, stumbling a bit to catch the attention of the three men.

 

"P-please! Help me!" you stuttered helplessly, holding your injured arm and taking a step forward. The men paused from talking to turn around to you.

 

"Ah, what do we have here. A survivor?" the taller one of the three looked at you with disinterest.

 

"Yer luk'ey that yer still alive kid." the smaller one grinned at you showing you his rotten teeth making you cringe. The tall one and small one laughed and swatted each other on the backs as if someone had told them a hilarious joke. The man in the middle stayed quiet, looking over your form. His gaze made your body cold and stiffen up.

 

 

 

_He knew._

 

 

 

"Looks like you have been doing pretty well out here by yourself." the man in the middle finally spoke, his overly sweet voice making your mind let out warning bells. He took a step forward towards you making your flinch back.

 

"You got all patched up and looks like you have some food in you." he smiled at you making you shiver, "Tell me, where did you find the food?"

 

"I- I found some in some buildings while I was hiding."

He hummed, "How 'bout we make a deal, you give us all your food and we will make sure that your death is quick and painless." your breath hitched, so much for trying to make a truce. You let go of your injured arm and slowly straightened up your posture.

 

"That doesn't sound like a fair trade, sir."

 

The middle man chuckled darkly, "Kid, its killed or be killed out here." He opened his arms and waved them around as if showing you your surroundings, "And us, we do the killing."

 

You dodged the metal pole that was aimed at your head, rolling on the ground and quickly getting up as you glared at the tallest man. The small one started to throw some sharp rocks at you but you easily dodged them.

 

"Three grown men fighting against one kid." you smirked, "Hitting a new kind of low, aren't you guys?" your mind started working in overdrive. You had to get them away from Wally so that he would be able to run safely to the nearest hiding spot. But these guys were making it harder for you.

 

"Stop hoppin' around you punk ass kid!" another metal clang was heard, you dodging the pole that was swung at you.

 

 _I have to get them away!_ You grabbed a rock and chucked it at the smaller one smirking when it hit his head, pissing him off even more. "Over here you dumbass, what? Can't handle a kid fighting you, now that just sad~" you taunted. The smaller one hissed at you muttering curses under his breath before running at you, metal pole raised. You dodged quickly making sure to lead him further away from Wally. Too occupied with luring the smaller man away you didn't notice the taller one come up from behind you, getting reading to wing his pole own on your head.

 

"Watch out!"

 

 You got shivers on your neck before rolling out of the way and to the side, the taller mans pole hitting the smaller one and vice versa. Both of them groaned in pain slowing coming back to their senses. Your eyes whipped to where you heard the voice, _Wally._

 

There stood Wally, slightly cowering behind the spot where you left him. _You idiot! Why did you show yourself!_ The man who seemed to be the leader of the group smirks at you and begins to walk toward him.

 

Your eyes widened, "Wally run! Get away from here! Go!" You started running towards the child, hand grabbing the boomerang from your waist. Wally froze, petrified at the man that was now in front of him.

 

"Get away from him you ass hole!" you raised your arm to throw your boomerang but was stopped when another grabbed it. "Let me go!" You kicked at the taller man who held your hand behind you, ignoring his dirty smile. "Wally, **run! _"_**

 

Wally yelped when the leader took a hold of his wrist and lifted a knife to his neck. "Well, well. Aren't you the brave little soldier. Thought you could hide this from me?" you glared at the man and quickly turned your body to hit the taller man in the crotch caking him to grunt and fall to his knees, you frantically threw the boomerang behind him, in hopes of hitting something but missed. Causing the leader and the smaller man to laugh.

 

"Let him go!" you started to run towards Wally but was stopped when he raised his knife closer to the child's neck causing him to whimper as tears fell from his eyes.

 

"Tut, tut, now kiddo." he smiled at you, "Don't want me fingers to slip now!~"

 

You stopped and glared at him again _, "_ Let him go, I'll give you the food and you can kill me. But let the boy go."

 

"Now~ Look at this little hero. Don't think you can change my mind now. I think I might just get rid of both of you."

 

You clenched your jaw, you felt so helpless. Not only did you put your life in danger, you put another innocent persons in danger too. A child too.

 

 

 

_You are a child, too._

 

 

Silence passed the group of you before you hear a faint whistle making you tense. You stared evenly at the man with the knife before placing all your food and supplies at your feet and raised both your hands up in surrender.

 

"Please, just let the child go. Kill me instead."

 

The man's smile twitched in annoyance, "You brat, you're starting to piss me off, I'll end his life and then yours-!" He raised his arm slightly to stab Wally but let go of the weapon when your boomerang came back and hit him on the hand. He yelled out in pain but was cut off when you lunged at his stomach bringing him to the ground.

 

Wally shrieked when he fell to the ground, clutching his neck and stared at you wrestling the man.

 

"Wally, get out of here! Run!" you grunted as the man punched you in the jaw, trying to pry your arms away from his torso.

 

"[N-Name]!!"

 

**"RUN DAMNIT!"**

 

Wally whimpered at the tone of your voice before fumbling to get up he attempted to run away but was stopped when the smaller man cackled and grabbed his hair.

 

"[Name]!!"

 

You managed to get a look of what was happening to Wally and say the smaller man holding him by the hair, the taller man had his metal pipe and was getting ready to swing at his head. Panicked you yelled and grabbed the gun from your belt pointing at the two. You aimed and shot two times before hearing two loud thuds and Wally's heavy breathing.

 

"You little fucker, you killed my men! I'm going to rip your arms off and kill you!" the leader pinned you to the ground holding your arms down, grinning maniacally.

 

"Let me go you bastard!" you squirmed under his grip but weren't able to break free.

 

"I'm going to enjoy this you brat."

 

 

 

_No. Nononononono!_

 

 

"Let go of them!" Wally screamed and threw a rock at this man's head causing him to loosen his hold for a split second but that was more than enough time to grab the switchblade from your belt and plunge it into his eye.

 

He howled in pain, hand going up to his eyes, "You little _fuck!"_

 

You rolled away from under him and grabbed the knife he was holding before stabbed him in his other eye. His yells of pain only grew louder.

 

"Wally, _look away!"_ you ordered the small child  as you grabbed your makeshift slingshot and loaded it with some large pieces of broken glass. Wally instantly closed his eyes and covered his ears, crouching down into fetal position. You let go of the band and watch as the glass flew in the air before piercing through the man. You watched as he fell to the ground, gurgling and taking his attempted last breaths a shard of glass lodged in his throat.

 

Breathing heavily you started at the man lying on the ground a bit away from you. Your gaze slowly moved to where Wally was crouching and blankly stared at the other two who were on the ground. You stumbled as you walked towards Wally, eyes looking at the holes in the two men's heads before pulling Wally up and to your chest. You moved away from the corpses and sat down on the broken street pulling Wally closer to you.

 

"Wally, are you okay?"

 

Wally looked up at you and begins to cry hysterically, his sobs only growing louder as he clutched onto you. You patted his head in attempts to soothe him, whispering words of comfort to him. It felt like hours until he managed to calm down, now only sniffling every couple of seconds but tears still freely falling from his face.

 

"[Name]... A-are you... okay?"

 

You looked down at the boy in your arms and tried to give him a smile.

 

"I... I don't know..."

 

"Y-you're crying!"

 

Lifting a hand to your cheek you saw that you were indeed crying. "Oh, I guess I am." you let out an empty chuckle as you sniffed loudly. Wally looked at you with worry about to ask you another question before clutching your shoulder tightly.

 

"[N-Name]! I s-see some more people!"

 

Your body went into auto pilot, quickly standing up and pushing Wally behind you. You're eyes looked around for any sort of weapon to protect the both of you with and landed on your forgotten boomerang. Quickly scooping it up from the ground you got into offensive stance and  waited to see who was approaching you.

 

"Wally." you said his name with so much authority you didn't need to see him nod his head.

 

"Okay [Name]."

 

As the footsteps got closer you body got tenser. You were already physically exhausted from before and not to mention mentally drained. But you still had to protect this boy, _you promised._

 

The footsteps had stopped and you could see the blurs of people just a couple of meters away from you. Wally had said your name in panic when seeing the people but your mind did not process it. Wally stared at your face, tears falling from your eyes as your lips quivered, trying to hold back a sob.

 

 

 

 

 

_"Jesse."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup.That just happened. I tried my best writing out the fighting scenes. They are a bit hard for me but I hope it was okay!  
> What am emotional roller coaster for the Reader. Poor poor child. Both of them.  
> Also, this is now rated R for mature content such as violence and death..... and swears LOL.  
> I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed typing out this chapter! This one is a bit more on the longer side, just because I wanted to put more things into it. I'll try to get the next out out ASAP. But again no promises!  
> Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think about this chapter and about the new character of Wally!  
> Until next time!


	44. Ten Years: Confusion

_"Jesse."_

Jesse stared at your crying face, his heart shattering when he saw your lips tremble and form shake.

"Jesse."

You called out his name one more time before taking a shaky step towards him, not believing your eyes. It was him it was really him. It was _Jesse,_ it was _dad._ A loud sob left your mouth before you take another small step towards him. Jesse's mouth creased into a thin line and furrowed his brows, eyes trying to blink away the tears that were forming in his eyes. He opened his arms and gave you a small smile.

"I'm here darling."

 

You felt something snap within you and before you knew it you were running towards him, garbled words leaving your lips as you pressed your face to his chest. Hands clutching at the material of his serape. Jesse wrapped his arms around you and held you tighter, trying to fight the shakes that were coming from his body.

"Darling... my baby [Name]..."

"Jesse...!"

Both of you stayed together softly crying, Jesse rubbing your back trying to sooth you. He looked up from your shoulder and saw Angela and Jack tending to the boy that was behind you. His eyes scanned the area and saw three men on the ground, dead. Two with bullet holes in their head and one with gouged eyes and glass lodged between his throat. You were still crying not noticing Jesse look around, he made eye contact with Angela and Jack who gave him a sad smile knowing what he was thinking.

You had taken life away in order to protect another. You were just a child. How could he had let this happen.

He says nothing as he pulls you even closer and cries for you.

 

* * *

 

After you were found by Jesse and the others they had taken you to where the remaining survivors were. You were relieved to see that Wally's parents were okay and smiled when he ran up to them and cried tears of relief and joy. His parents thanked you for saving their son which you shook your head and patted Wally on the head.

"You be good now, 'yhear?"

Wally sniffed and looked at his feet, refusing to make eye contact with you. You smiled softly and ruffled his hair.

"Wally."

 He let out a loud sob and looked up at you, face red and stained with tears.

"[N-name]! T-thank you so much! I- You-"

You chuckled softly, eyes getting watery because of the boy in front of you. You kneeled down and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"I told you, I'd bring you back to them."

Wally nodded and bit his bottom lip, "Will- I... see you again?" You blinked at the sudden question and smiled.

"Hopefully in better situations."

Wally nodded before flinging his arms around your neck and pulled you in for a hug. You wrapped your arms around him in earnest and patted the back of his head. "Thank you, [Name]. I'll pay you back one day."

You murmured softly into the child ear, "There's no need for that."

"I'll miss you..."

You both pulled away and gave each other a smile, "Take care, okay Wally?" Wally wiped at his face and nodded.

"I'm going to be strong like you, [Name]! So next time I can protect you!" He held you his pinky towards you and looked at your face with determination. You laughed softly and hooked you pinky with his.

"I'll hold you to that."

You watched as he ran back to his parents and board the plane that was headed for a safe zone and waved as it left.

 

That was weeks ago and you were now back at the base doing the usual things you would be doing. You remembered when you first came back Angela fretted over your arm and leg, saying that you were not able to do anything strenuous for at least a month or two. She also kept asking you how you were feeling and if you were alright. You knew she was worried about your well being but you told her that you were okay and happy to be back home and safe with everyone. Angela had frowned but said nothing more and told you that you could talk to her if needed.

 

For about a month now you had avoided people. They were all worried about you when they had found out that you had gone missing on the day your went out and all had helped in efforts to find you and protect the other survivors from the attack. You had smiled at all of them and thanked them for their concern and reassured them that you were doing alright and you were focusing on healing.

 

It had been become a habit now, every time you were feeling stressed or conflicted you would go to the watch point and stare out the window outside in attempts to gather your thoughts. And for some reason every time you went there Ana was there  with you. She usually brings your some tea and the two of you would just sit in silence, enjoying each other's company and staring out the window. Today was like any other time you had gone to the watch point, Ana showed up and set a cup of tea besides you before taking her seat opposite from yours. But this time you started talking.

 

"I thought I could be strong." you said quietly as you looked at some of the birds that were flying outside. Ana didn't bother looking at you and chose to keep her gaze out the window, taking a small sip of her tea.

 

"I thought I could fight." you gripped the mug that was in your hands tighter, eyes squinting in frustration.

 

"... But when the time came to fight... I was...so scared."

 

Your focus shifted from watching the birds outside to your reflection in the window. "I... I killed three people..." you looked at yourself in the window and saw how tired and raggedy you were. "It was to protect someone else and myself... but..." You made eye contact with Ana through the reflection of the window, her gaze calm and steady, waiting for you to continue.

 

"I'm not sure what is good anymore and what I am supposed to do..."

 

Silence filled the air between the two of you before Ana softly placed her now empty cup at her side.

 

"What do _you_ want to do."

 

It was such a simple question, but why was it so hard to answer?

 

"I... I've said I wanted to protect the ones I love... That still hasn't changed..."

 

Ana's silence only gave you the conformation you needed but you still felt unsure. You moved your gaze to you half empty cup of tea, staring at you muggy reflection in the liquid a frown crossed your face and you sighed softly.

 

_But who will protect them if we are the ones doing the protecting?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Sorry for the late chapter!   
> I have been very very busy with work and don't have any days off to myself as of late.  
> But I have today off!  
> I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. The reader is at ten years old now which seem like its been for a long time but the next chapter it should change. Only a couple more years before more shit begins to go down, AKAthe fall of overwatch and all the jazz.   
> I have some of the other chapters already typed out but I just need to tweak them a bit. So, new chapters may come faster.  
> I want to thank you all for bring so patient with me =3= I have not forgotten about this story! I plan on finishing it!
> 
> Well then, with all that said.
> 
> Ill see you, until next time!


	45. Eleven Years: Distraction

Left. Left. Right. Left. Feint.

You sucked in a quick breath of air before jumping back, narrowly missing the kick that was aimed for your stomach. Just as quickly as you jumped back you lowered you body and shot forward to tackle the opponent in front of you, letting out a loud grunt when they didn't move an inch. Before you could change your position you found yourself staring at the ceiling of the training room panting heavily as sweat ran down your brow.

"Better."

The soft mechanical voice rang though your ears before you eased your way back onto your legs. You straitened you posture and bowed at Genji who was watching your form.

"Thank you."

You walked towards the bench and grabbed one of the many water bottles from your bag and drank the remaining liquid in one go. You walked back towards the training mats and stretched a bit before getting back into sparring position in front of the cyborg. Genji complied and the two of you began sparring once more.

 

 

"Genji, if I could ask you something for me please." The cyborg stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to see Angela looking at him with an apologetic look.

"Dr. Zeigler, what can I help you with."

Angela walked towards him and crossed her arms in front of her body, "It's about [Name]..."

Genji shifted slightly, the cowboy's child. Angela smiled sadly, "I've noticed that they haven't been the same since the incident a year ago... They have been training non-stop and it seems that there is something on their mind... I was wondering if you could somehow, approach them?"

"I am not sure if I would be the best person fit for that kind of task Doctor." Angela shook her head and smiled at the man.

"Actually, I think you might be perfect for the job Genji, please at least give it a try."

He gave her a curt nod before leaving for the training grounds to meet you.

 

 

You let out a small 'oof' as Genji pinned you down again. You sighed heavily and waited for him to get off of you before standing to your feet again.

"You are improving a lot."

  
You nodded and thanked him, wiping the sweat from your forehead with a towel.

"We will take a ten minute break before continuing."

"Alright." was your simple answer before you started your stretches once again.

Genji stayed silent as he watched you stretch, not knowing how to bring up the subject of how you were feeling and letting him know that he was here to talk if needed.

While you were doing you stretches you hear Genji speak up which was rare for him, "There are times where I feel angry with the people around me and at myself. Most of the time I recognize this anger as frustration towards myself and what I have become."

 

You said nothing and waited for him to continue, "The things I have done and the things that I will do shouldn't be something I should do or do alone."

 

The two of you remained in silence for the remaining minutes of the break before you got up and walked towards the training mat once more, passing the cyborg and uttering a small,

 

"Thank you..."

 

Genji takes his position in front of you and watches as you bow and get into fighting position once more. Both of you started to spar, both distracting yourselves from your own thoughts. Your own fears, frustrations. The things that have happened and the things that going to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed reading!  
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Until Next time!!


	46. Eleven Years: Denial

You were in your room tinkering with some of the tools you had gotten from Torbjörn and extra scraps hanging around the place. You had been working on this project for about three months and it was staring to slowly come together. You had made boomerang from the blueprints you had made before and successfully made a test product. You were trying the new weapon out to see if the blades that were on both sides of the boomerang would spring out when you threw it worked but you had made a mistake in the wiring and had sliced the palm of your hand instead. You cursed softly and quickly grabbed a clean rag from under your table. You managed to stop the bleeding and patch the wound up as best as you can before deciding to take a break and head towards the cafeteria.

 

Much to your displeasure you had run into Angela in the cafeteria and was stopped when she say your injured hand holding a cup of tea. She gave you a look which made you reluctantly follow her to the med bay, abandoning your food on a near by table.

 

Now here you were, sitting on of the free beds in the med bay, looking down at your injured hand and watching Angela patch it up and use her staff to quicken the healing process. None of you had said anything since the two of you made eye contact. It felt like if you did she would be angry with you so you decided to remain quiet. Once she was done she handed you some pain killers in case it still hurt. You took them from her hands gently and hopped off the bed making your way towards the door. The soft call of your name stopped you in your tracks but you didn't turn around.

 

"You know I'm here if you ever need to talk." she looked at you worriedly, "It's not healthy for you to bottle things up, you have so many people for you."

 

You gripped the small container of pill in your hand tighter before taking in deep breath. "Thank you for your concern, Angela." You walk out the door ignoring the gaze on your back and the heavy feeling in your chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small chapter! There will be another posted right away~


	47. Eleven Years: I'm (Not) Okay

A rare feeling of peacefulness washed over your body as you close your eyes and focused on the heat of the sun from outside absorb into you. I was rare for you to feel peaceful. You weren't going to deny the fact that you had been pushing other away and declining their offer of help. You had focused on training and becoming stronger for everyone but in turn, pushed those you wanted to protect away. It was for the best, or at least you thought it was. The others were starting to get on your nerves, asking you to open up, for them to help. But they should see that you were doing fine. And that you could handle things yourself.

 

_Or so you thought._

 

A tap to your left alerted you that someone was beside you, not bothering to open your eyes you evened out your breathing and ignored them.

 

"Mind if I join you?"

You say nothing which they took as an ok. Fareeha sat to your left and crossed her legs and closed her eyes and the two of you began to meditate. You felt something shift in the air and it started the become harder to focus on meditation, the feeling coming from Fareeha made you anxious and uncomfortable but tired your best to ignore it.

 

"[Name], I know you don't want to talk about... things. But it would be better for you to, y'know?"

 

You took in a sharp breath of air through your nose body tensing in the slightest. Fareeha continued to speak making the hairs on your arms stand.

 

"Everyone is really worried about you and they want to know if you're okay..."

 

Your eyebrow twitched unintentionally and you sifted slightly, becoming more frustrated.

 

"Ever since a year ago..."

 

Your eyes snapped open and you whipped your head to the left to come face to face with Fareeha who looked at you with worry. You stood up abruptly and  patted  the dirt from your pants.

 

"[Name]-!"

 

"Thank you for your concern, I will do my best to get stronger." You nodded towards her, "If you will excuse me." You jumped from the platform you were sitting on, by passing the stairs and landed softly on your feet and started to walk away. Fareeha stared sadly at your retreating form a worried look on her face and a sinking feeling in her stomach.

 

You huffed softly to yourself, _so much for peace and quiet._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get a bit overwhelming for the reader...  
> They have been keeping things in since the incident and don't know what to do with themselves.  
> Who will be the person that can get through them?  
> I hope you all enjoyed reading!  
> I'll see you in the next chapter!  
> Until next time!


	48. Eleven and a Half Years: Too Much

The familiar rustle of papers and the scraping of a pen filled the office, you sat at a desk organizing files, papers and reports in alphabetical order. You have done this many times, helping out Reyes organize his paper work. You think that without you his office would be swarmed with papers everywhere. Today was a usual Tuesday for you. Help Reyes with his paperwork, then after he was done the two of you would head to the shooting range for target practice. You heard a soft grunt making you turn your head slightly to see Reyes roll his shoulders and put his pen down. Quickly placing the last of the papers you were working on in their designated place you stood up and walked towards the door. The soft screech form the chair he was sitting on indicated that we too was getting up and making his way to follow you towards the shooting range. You think that your relationship with Reyes has not changed much since the incident, considering how the others were acting towards you. Angela's over the top concern for your mental health, Fareeha's concern about your well being and even Genji who had told you in some occasions that you are free to talk if needed. Besides them you and Reyes relationship has neither changed or grown. Jesse on the other hand had been giving you the space you needed. Sure the two of you don't hang out as much as you used to but that was also because he has been going out on more missions than usual.

When the two of you made it to the shooting range you geared up and put the necessary protection and go into your usual booth. You started shooting at the target ahead of you, grunting quietly with every shot. Every time you went to the shooting range you felt your blood boil just a bit more faster and hotter, the memories of a year ago came back to your mind and all you could see were the men standing in front of you. You quickly reloaded the gun and shot again, oblivious to Gabriel who was watching you carefully. A couple of shots later you unloaded the gun and placed it on the table, letting out a soft sigh. You were still aggravated from the memories and felt antsy.

 

"Training room, we are going to practice sparring."

 

Without another word you followed the tall man to the training grounds, quickly walking towards the mat and stretching your body. The two of you begin with the usual routine you have always practiced together before Gabriel starts changing it up keeping you quick on your toes. You dodge his fist, roll and try to grab him from behind. Your tactic ultimately fails causing you to get grabbed instead and pinned to the ground. You breathing is heavy as you stare up at Gabriel who is looking at you sternly.

 

"Talk."  

 

Your eyes narrow and glare at him, pushing his off with difficulty before standing back up again. You don't answer him which seems to annoy him as you got back into fighting stance. Gabriel comes at you again with a flurry of punches and kicks, much faster than what you are used to making you bob and weave and switch from offense to defense, making you more aggravated. With a loud 'thwap' you are on the ground again staring at his face.

 

"I have had it with your attitude, kid."

 

You try to push him off of you but was not successful, opting to move your head to look at the side rather than at his face.

 

"Then don't deal with it."

 

This seems to piss him off even more, he punches the ground at the side of your head where you are looking and you try your best not to flinch.

 

"Everyone said to give you time, to give you space. It's been a year and a half and nothing has changed. People are still tiptoeing around the subject trying to be considerate towards you." you hear his growl but you keep your gaze away from him and stared at the clenched fist in front of you.

 

"I'm done being considerate, I'm done waiting. Whether you like it or not, you are going to talk."

 

Your gaze grey hard as you felt you blood boil, you didn't need to talk to anyone. People's concerns about you was not your problem, you didn't ask them to worry about you. You snapped your head towards Gabriel and let out a loud yell using your lower body to push him off and kick him in the chest. Easier said than done, you had used all of your strength just to get him off of you and were now struggling to stand back up to leave the room.

 

"I don't need to tell you anything. I'm fine." you staggered to you feet and slowly made your way to the door, trying to keep you head up and the remaining dignity you had.

 

"Don't think you can just walk out here so easily, [Name]"

 

Before you could turn around and yell at him your arm was grabbed and body thrown over to the mats once again. You landed on your back with a loud 'thud' causing you to groan loudly. You blink the stars in front of your eyes before trying to sit back up but was stopped when Gabriel planted his foot on your chest making you fall down once again.

 

"Get off me."

 

Gabriel just stares at you with his stoic face and you know that you won't be going anywhere if you didn't talk. But that didn't mean you wouldn't try to run past him. You start to struggle under his foot, quickly becoming more frantic and flailing your arms and legs around.

 

"'Git off'a me, dam'it!"

 

"[Name]."

 

"I don't need 'ta tell 'ya 'nything! I told 'veryone I'm alright! I don't need 'yer pity too!" frustrated tears started to leave your eyes as you struggling lessened.

 

"I have 'ta grow up!"

 

You let out a sob, "I have 'ta protect everyone..."

You legs and arms gave in and laid motionless on the mat, you stared up at Gabriel with tears falling from your eyes, a loud sob escaped your lips.

 

"But... I'm so scared..."

 

Gabriel lifts his foot from you and watches you cry and cover your eyes with your arms.

 

"I'm still a kid... what can I do? I feel so helpless..." your body unconsciously moves on its side as you curl up into a ball.

 

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost one of you guys..." you are now full on sobbing in the middle of the training room. You had been holding everything in for what seemed like forever that it felt really good to cry. Gabriel kneeled down and scooped you up and brought you towards him. You head rested on his chest as he stroked your head comfortingly. You clutch his shirt and bury your face in it, tears not stopping as you try and muffle your sobs. It seemed like an eternity but you had calmed down and were now just sniffing with the occasional hiccup.

 

"Mi búho."

 

You sniffed and smiled softly at the familiar name, "M'sorry."

 

"The person you should be apologizing to is not me, but to those who have tried to talk to you. I don't doubt that the things that happened in the past still scare you but it's always okay to ask for help. There is no shame in that. You are still young and are growing. Us, the people here have been here for a lot longer than you and have been doing this for almost half their life. They know what you are going through and want to help."

 

You looked away from him ashamed, but only got another soft pat on your head, "It's always good to talk it out."

 

"Okay...I'm sorry again. I'll... I'll talk to everyone and apologize."

 

"Take it one step at a time, Mi búho. Things aren't meant to be easy at first."

 

You wrapped your arms around Gabriel and hugged him tight, "Love you, Rey Rey."

 

Gabriel sighed and returned the hug, "Love you too, kid."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey. Sorry its been a while.  
> Been working over time to get some extra vacation days for when my friends come to visit.  
> But, I found some time to type this small chapter up.  
> Also, I've been playing the new event in Overwatch and lets just say, BOIIIIIIIi  
> RETRIBUTION is by far the best event I have played. It also got me motivated to update this story because its kinda close with the timeline, with Blackwatch and Jesse and all that Jazz.  
> Anyways, Reader has finally broke and realized what has been bumming them out for the last year and a half, it only took a good beating from Gabe to find that out.  
> Things are going to get better for them, mentally at least. They can have a piece of mind, even for a little while.  
> Things are still going to be going to shit, so... be ready for that.  
> Also!! There is probably about 10-12 more chapters until this story ends!  
> Can you believe that?!  
> I wanted to ask you guys if I should make a sequel? This would be when Reader is older and Overwatch has been reformed and all that jazz?  
> Lemme know!
> 
> I'll try to update again soon!  
> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Until next time!


	49. Twelve Years: Fault

Things were starting to look up for you. You started opening up to the people that were around you and taking their advice and help. You felt as if there was a huge weight that was lifted off of your shoulders and were getting back into your groove and hw you were before. You did your normal training with Genji and could see how your more positive attitude was making you get better at sparring. You were hitting the targets more often with gun practice with Gabriel and Angela started to let you help out in the Medbay when you visited. Slowly but surely you were learning how to become a soldier. You were ecstatic, you were working hard and could see that all your hard work was starting to pay off and couldn't be any happier. Everyone kept encouraging you to keep working hard and do your best and helped you as much as they can  along the way. All except for one person.

 

Jesse did not approve.

 

He didn't think that you becoming a soldier, learning how to fight and handle weapons was good for you. You were supposed to enjoy your life as a child while you still had it. He was supposed to be the one to protect you from danger, from all the things that were happening outside.

 

But be failed. You had already experienced first had of what it was like to kill. What it was like to me fighting for your life, to be terrified of the unknown and of loosing someone.

 

It wasn't your fault for growing up so fast. It wasn't your fault for wanting to becoming stronger, to fight. It wasn't your fault to have already shed blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Its been a while, sorry for not posting in a long time.  
> I went on vacation for about a month and I was out and about all day.  
> Hope this smol, smol chapter will suffice until the next.  
> Like I said before, the story is slowly coming to an end an I asked in the previous chapter if I should have a sequel.  
> At the moment I think I will, but i cant make any promises yet, so nothing is set in stone. I have a few idea of what will happen, so I'll see how things will plan out.  
> Again, thank you for reading and for this small short chapter!  
> Until next time!


	50. Twelve Years: Changes

"Pass the popcorn darlin'" you shift in your seat to hand over the large bowl of popcorn to Jesse who was besides you. The two of you were currently in his room having your normal monthly movie night. This time he got to choose the movie which was some random cowboy film. Jesse grabbed the bowl from your hand and muttered a small thank you before grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing it in his face. You watched him from the corner of your eye, hardly paying attention to the movie that was playing on screen. Things have been, different. Not a good different but not a bad different. But you knew that it wasn't the same as it was before. The feelings you had towards Jesse have not changed, as in. You still love him with all of your heart. After you talked to everyone on base about how you were feeling and apologized to them things were starting to get better for you. Had were getting more sleep and you felt lighter when you woke up. You had more focus during training and were more motivated in tinkering with some spare equipment that was left by others. In a sense things were going pretty well for you.

 

But when you had talked to Jesse about how you had been feeling, he had just sat there listening to your worlds silently. His face not giving off any emotions like he seemed to be thinking about something that was making him frustrated. When you finished he just walked over to you and brought you into his arms, muttering an 'I love you so much' then excused himself from the room. That left you with a weird feeling in your stomach, a small feeling of dread had started to form but you had put it off as something bad you ate. His outward appearance and personality didn't seem to change, you remembered watching him interact with others in the base and saw nothing different but when the two of you are together there seems to be a sort of heavy aura around the both of you.

 

You hear Jesse chuckle at something that happened on the screen and proceed to grab more popcorn from the bowl. You thought that this would be the perfect time to ask him something that has been bugging you for a while.

 

"Hey, Jesse?"

 

"Mmm?"

 

You take in a deep breath before exhaling though our nose softly, "Do you still love me?"

 

Jesse's hand that was filled with popcorn freezes in the air, his mouth hanging open as his gaze turns to you. You stubbornly keep your eyes glued to the screen and watch as the cowboy chases after the bandit on his horse. Opening his hand and letting the popcorn fall back into the bowl Jesse sighs and turns his body to face you.

 

"[Name]..."

 

You squint your eyes slightly, still not taking them off of the screen stubbornly.

 

"Honey, look at me."

 

Reluctantly you turned your head to see Jesses sad smile and droopy eyes. This makes your heart beat faster and breathing stutter for a moment. Had you said the wrong thing?

 

"I don't know what your are thinkin', but never in my life will I not love you." He tilts his head slightly to stare into your eyes lovingly. "You are my sunshine and my life and there this nothing that I wouldn't do for you."

 

"I love you so much and with all of my heart, nothing will change that, y'hear?"

 

Your lips tremble as you hastily rub at your eyes, catching the tears before they fall. With a hasty nod you wrapped your arms around Jesse who returned your embrace.

 

"M'sorry I said that..." you mumbled into his chest, squeezing your eyes to stop more tears from falling.

 

Jesse rubbed your back comfortingly, "Nothing to be sorry about, darlin'"

 

The both of you stayed like that for a bit not letting each other go. Your heart felt relieved to hear him say those words but the feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach grew but once again you chose to ignore it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!  
> From my vacation.  
> Whats going on y'all, sorry that I haven't posted in a while (as usual) But instead of me procrastinating  
> I was on vacation (lol same thing tho)  
> Some of my close friends visited me from back home and I had to show the around my place, it as lots of fun.  
> But now I'm back at work and found some times to sit down and start typing out some chapters!
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think of it!  
> Until then, see you next time!!


	51. Twelve Years: Insight

 

You watch yet another group of people fast walk by, carrying paper in their hands and muttering to themselves. Things seemed to be busy at the base, mo so than usual. You blinked and watched some medics run back and forth from the medbay to other rooms wondering what was going, hopefully no one was hurt... too bad. Your curiosity got the best of you and you finally decided to ask someone what was happening around the base that made everyone so busy and frantic. Slowly making your way down the hall and towards the training hall you stumble across Fareeha who help some papers in her hand and a holopad in the other.

 

"Fareeha, hey!" you raise your hand as you call out to her making her look up and smile towards you.

 

"[Name], what a pleasant surprise." The distance between the two of you closed and the both of you moved to the side of the nearest wall not to block the hallway.

 

"So, I was wondering," your eyes trail after another worker walking past the two of you, "What's going on out there? Seems like something big is about to happen."

 

Fareeha grimaced and gave you a smile, "Let's just say some things outside are starting to escalate and it involves politics, which always leads things to get messy."

 

You hummed and moved your arms to your back, crossing them as you watched the older girl in front of you explain. "Is there maybe... something I can do to help?"

 

Fareeha shook her head, "You don't have to worry about these kind of things, [Name]. You are still too young to be involved in this." You just nod your head waving her goodbye as she excused herself. You stayed still for a moment, your thoughts running at full speed. _If no one will tell me what is going on, it seems like I have to do some digging on my own..._ Sighing tiredly you made your way towards your room, preparing yourself for a long night. Stepping into your room and plopping on your computer chair you spun around for a bit before rolling your shoulders and cracking your knuckles. _Let's begin._

Fingers flew on the keyboard and only your furious typing was heard for the next couple of hours.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!   
> Sorry for the super duper short chapter but it is necessary for the story and to keep it going.  
> Things are going down and not in the good way.  
>  I was looking at all of my outlines for the next chapters and saw that I literally only have 4-5 more chapters left until this story comes to an end.   
> And I was like BOIIII, this makes me sad, to see it end but also happy at the same time because its been so long.  
> I think I will make a sequel, even if it is only a couple chapters (which may or may not be the case, I cant promise anything right now I could totally make another long ass story or a short one)  
> But, I think it would be cool to see how everything plays out in the future!  
> Hope you enjoyed reading and I want to say thank you for those who have been reading!  
> It fills me with joy to know that I am causing you guys pain!  
> Jokes, jokes! I'm sorry for the angst and hurt. I wanna make everyone happy but- plot!  
> Until next time!


	52. Thirteen Years: Not the same

 

_It's not the same._

Jesse has been acting... strange. Sure you noticed him being a bit distant and not hanging around him as much as before. But you always thought it was because he was busy with missions. But this was different. You watched from the top of watch point tower, peering out of the windows to the outside to spot Jesse and Gabriel talking. _More like arguing._ You grimaced as Jesse ripped his hat off of his head and glared at Gabriel. The two men stared at each other for a while before Jesse spat something back at him and walked away. You can't imagine what the two were talking about but you knew it was no good. A frown made its way to your lips watching as Gabriel sigh heavily and massage in between his eyes.

 

 

 

 

"Hey Jesse, you wanna practice shooting together today?" you ran up to him, matching his pace as the two of you walked down the hall.

 

His face stayed stoic not bothering to look down to you when he spoke, "Not today, [Name]. I have some things to take care of." You hummed watching him with your eyes, trying to catch any sign of changes in his face.

 

"Tomorrow then, if not how about the day after? Next week is also good for me. Or y'know whenever-"

 

"I told 'ya I'm busy, as someone else." he huffed as he increased his walking pace. You blinked and stopped in the middle of the hallway, watching his back as it grew further away from you. Brows furrowing with confusion, he's never been that short with you before. You chest tightened as an unwelcome feeling crawled in your stomach.

 

 

_It's not the same._

 

During the week you have tried to talk to Jesse but it seemed as if every time you tried he would decline your invitations saying he has something to do, or somewhere to be. It was starting to get on your nerves. On the occasion he would snap at you then walk away making you pissed and hurt.

 

 

_It's not the same._

 

You lie on your bed arms spread out as you stare the ceiling above you. Trying to figure out what was causing Jesse to be so stressed and snappy. Was it because of the things that was happening in the base? Because of Blackwatch or Overwatch? You had found some news about Overwatch, which was basically an army fighting against the Omnics and trying to return peace to the world. Blackwatch was all about that too, but more... in the shadows. You didn't know that Gabriel was in charge of that or that Genji or Jesse were a part  of that. It took some digging to get that information from the main computer but were able to pull a few files out without getting caught.

 

What was going on in the world? With Overwatch and Blackwatch?

 

_What's going on with you, Jesse?_

You curled yourself into a ball, making yourself as small as possible, the familiar feeling of dread returned to your stomach and know you knew for certain that it was something not to ignore. You squeezed your eyes tightly as you felt hot tears trying to escape as you whispered quietly to yourself, "It's not the same anymore."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huuhuuu so sad.  
> Good luck Reader, things are just going to get worse for you!  
> Hope you all enjoyed!  
> Until next time!


	53. Fourteen Years: Consolation

You sat in the middle of the training room next to Genji, both of you silently meditating together. It had become a daily routine for the both of you. You had been feeling stressed and would take out your anger and frustration on a nearby training dummy before Genji would arrive and the two of you would meditate. It really did help, the unspoken words that were shared between the both of you made you feel at ease. You shifted in your position as quietly as you could trying not to disturb the cyborg to your left. But he noticed the discomfort in your form and grunted quietly in slight annoyance.

 

"Sorry." you said in a small voice, trying to relax your shoulders and opening your eyes to glance at him. "I can't seem to focus today." you are met with silence but you kept on talking.

 

"Things have been... different for me and I'm not sure if I like the changes or not. It seems like things are the same but I know in reality they aren't. Like, Jesse... he's been acting weird and when I try to ask him about it he dodges the question and then leaves for a mission." You squeeze you closed eyes tighter causing your brows to crease with frustration. "I just have a really bad feeling that something is going to happen...and I'm not sure what I should do." You let out a loud sigh as you slowly open your eyes and stare at the floor in front of you. "To be honest... I'm really scared."

 

Genji stays still by your side as you listen to the ticking of a nearby clock. The thoughts in your mind were scattered and you didn't know how to organize them or where to even start.

 

"If it is any consolation."

 

You blinked when you heard him shift by your side and jerked slightly when you see his arm closest to you reach out.

 

"You can trust me, if anything is needed from me you always have this."

 

Turning your gaze from the floor to him you see in his outstretched arm is a small device that looks similar to a cell phone. Gingerly, you took it from his hand and stared at it quizzically. In your confusion you opened your mouth to ask him what it was before being cut off by his voice.

 

"Use it when you need it the most."

 

Nodding silently you placed the device i your pocket reminding yourself to keep it somewhere safe and with you at all times.

 

"Y'know, for a brooding cyborg, you're a pretty nice guy Genji." you smile at the man sitting beside you and chuckled softly when you see him close his eyes once more and continued to meditate.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Its been a while, Im so, so , so sorry for not updating.  
> Things have been crazy here and I'm planning to move back to my home country by the end if this year.  
> So things have been like, uerhg.  
> Anyways, hope this small chapter is okay!  
> Ill be posting another one soon!! Like I said before this story is almost over and I do plan on finishing it!  
> Until next time!  
> Thank you again!


	54. Fifteen Years: Happy Birthday

 

 

You sat crossed legged on your bed reading some old blue prints that you snatched from Winston's office when he wasn't looking. They were about an airship and all the details of how to make one and what kind of parts were needed. You'd give it back to him, once you made copies of it and stored it away... as well as the other ones you 'borrowed' from him as well. Things were quiet at the base, most people were out on missions, it seemed like the things going on outside were really starting to heat up and people needed help. The Omnic crisis still hasn't let up even after all these years. You sigh softly as you rolled up the paper and placed it with the others. It made you a bit sad that there wasn't really anyone on the base that was free, even for a small chat. You were feeling a bit selfish, today is your birthday and no one had been around for you to talk to. It didn't matter to you as much as it did when you were young, but a quick 'Happy Birthday' would have made you happy. But you understood the circumstances, there were more important things going on than your birthday. You hopped off the bed and reached underneath it, pulling out a shoebox. You opened the lid and grabbed a holopad that Winston had given you on your first birthday. He had recorded everything, from the surprise all the way to the end of the party. He even manage to catch a few interactions with you and the other members. Like, Lena smashing cake in your face, Gabriel playing the guitar as per request for you and Jesse, singing for you. Tapping the screen to turn it on you got yourself situated on your bed once more before watching the past unfold. You laughed at the funny faces that Winston made, the booming voice of Reinhardt and the soft smiles that came from Angela. You favorite part was coming up making you snuggle deeper in your spot. You stare at the screen lovingly when you see Jesse's face appear.

 

 

 

_"What? I have to do it again?"_

_A short pause and a muttering from off the screen was heard, Jesse's face deadpanned as he sighed._

_"It 'aint my fault you weren't paying attention the first time."_

_Your voice cuts him off and the recording moves to you, "It's okay Jesse, you already did it once and that made me happy." you smile at the cowboy which let out another loud sigh. The camera zooms out from your face to focus on you and Jesse._

_"Sugar plum, when you say it like that, it makes me feel bad."_

_You tilt your head to the side and shrugged, "But it's the truth! It did make me happy and if you don't wanna do it again then it's okay!"_

You heard Lena's voice in the background making you giggle _, "Awh, look at 'em Jess! You gonna make them sad on their birthday?"_

_Jesse glared at the woman off camera before huffing, "I wasn't gonna make 'em sad, gosh darnit! I'll do it, git off my back!"_

_You smile and eagerly sat on the nearby chair next to you and looked up at you cowboy. "Ready!"_

_Jesse gave the people off camera a withering glare before turning back to you with a soft smile on his face. "Alright darlin' this one's just for you."_

_You nodded your head rapidly and smiled at him with stars in your eyes._

_Happy Birthday to you..._

You stared at the screen happily reliving that memory. It was one of your favorites and it made you always feel happy when you were down. You got lost in listening to Jesse's voice, it's like it made all your troubles go away and made your mind at peace. Figuring you weren't going to get a birthday song this year, you decided to have Jesse's song for you all those years ago put on repeat for the whole day. You can be selfish for one day right?

 

As you pressed the repeat button on the holopad you heard some commotion coming from outside your door. Curious you placed the holopad down and walked towards the door to see what was going on. You see a batch of people run across the hallway towards the medical wing and people scrambling around with papers and weapons. You step out of your room, dodging people as you made your way towards the medical wing. Maybe Angela needed some help with the people that were injured. You were almost there when you stopped and saw Gabriel in the meeting room with others and they seemed to be yelling.

 

_Something bad must have happened outside._ You stood besides the open door to listen to what was going on.

 

"Are you crazy?!"

 

"You must have taken a hit to the head if you think you're really doing this."

 

You hear Gabriel swear and hit a nearby chair with his foot, Angela's voice piped in making you confused, why wasn't she at medbay right now?

 

"I told you already, I'm done."

 

Your heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar southern voice you came to know and love. _Jesse?_

 

"You cant just, **be done.** "

 

"Commander, with all due respect I dont like how things have changed and have been going on here for the past few years and I'm not one to stay and do as I'm told like an obedient dog."

 

"Agent there are _lives_ at stake here."

 

_Jack? Gabriel, Angela and Jesse are in there? I'm confused what's going on?_

"Please reconsider Jesse."

 

"Aint' no room for any more consideration Angela. I said it once and I'll say it again, Im done. I'm leaving."

 

_Leaving'?_ Your whole body went cold and your mind went into overdrive. What was he talking about? He's _done,_ he's _leaving?_ Where is he going, he didn't tell you anything about this.

 

"What about [Name]?"

 

A short pause and a moment of silence fell in the room.

 

 

"[Names] not coming with me. Take care of 'em"

 

 

_Happy Birthday to you._

 

 

 

Voices rose and words of protests were heard, "Jesse! You can't just up and leave them without saying anything! What will happen to them?!"

 

"You ungrateful bastard, you're so selfish you would leave your own _child_ here?! With everything they have been through and with the things that are still happening outside?!"

 

"McCree, please reconsider, you have not only yourself to think about but [Name], you child to think for as well."

 

"I'm finished and my minds made up."

 

You see Jesse come out from the room and turn the corner, Jack, Gabriel and Angela rush out after him to try and stop him but freeze when they see you standing in front of him with confused and hurt eyes.

 

"Jesse...?"

 

"Outta' the way darlin'"

 

Your brows furrow as you shake your head, "Jesse, what's going on? Where are you going? Is it another mission?"

 

"I aint' got no time for this now."

 

"W-will you be coming back after?" you look up at him and stare into his eyes, yours becoming glossy when he doesn't say anything to you. But understood his unspoken words.

 

"Will you- you come back for me...?" you voice trails off as he looks down at you with a frown and a look that you can't seem to decipher.

 

"[Name], you need to stay here."

"Can't I go with you?"

 

Jesse says nothing as he walks around you and towards the exit of the base. You eyes widen in fear as you quickly turned around and reached out an arm to grab his serape but only brushed the fabric slightly before grabbing thin air.

 

"Jesse-!" you voice cracks and is laced with helplessness as you watch him walk further away from you. "Jesse! Wait!" You start to chase after him but your legs feel like they are made of cement and are glued to the ground that you cant move.

 

"Why can't I come?!"

 

_Jesse!_

"I thought- I thought you loved me! Do you not love me anymore?" you let out a loud sob escape from your lips, your words are slurred unknown to you but you continue to talk. Jesse was almost at the door before you let out a loud wail.

 

" ** _Dad!"_**

_Happy Birthday dear, [Name]._

 

 

Jesse stops right in front of the door pausing for a bit, making your heart flutter with hope.

 

"Take care, love."

 

 

He steps out of the base and the door closes behind him, you whole world shatters as you fell to your knees and stared at the door. You let out an earth shattering cry and you punched the ground under you as tears left your eyes like bullets. Garbled words of confusion, hurt and sadness left your lips. The room started closing in on you as you started sobbing hysterically. You didn't notice Angela come to your side, her words of comfort were deaf to your ears as you continued to bawl your eyes out. Jack looked at you sadly, not sure how to help you in this time of distress and opted to stay away for now. Gabriel cursed loudly, calling Jesse a bastard and a traitor who was unworthy of having a child. The base was still swarming with people, the med bay was full, and people running around with weapons. The holopad on your bed chattered with life as it kept playing part of the video you put on repeat for the day.

_Happy Birthday to you._

_I love you [Name], my one and only darlin'_

_I love you too Jesse!_

_You jumped from the chair you were sitting on and into the arms of Jesse, laughing wildly as he peppered light kisses all over your face. The two of you laughed as you wrapped you small arms around his neck and you hummed with delight._

 

_I promise I'll never leave you._

 

 

 

You let out a cry of heartbreak and hit the ground once more, ignoring the voices around you to stop and the blood that seeped through your clenched fingers. Broken words left your mouth,

 

"You **lied."**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im... sorry? (not sorry)  
> Uh, yeah.   
> Let me know how you feeeeel.  
> Tell me your paiiiiiiiiiiiiiin  
> It gives me life.  
> Just kidding but, I'm sorry, really.... Kind of....  
> I had this chapter idea since like chapter 5 and I was really excited to type it out. But, booooooooooooi, it hurt me something fierce.  
> Hope you all enjoyed reading (even if it made you die a bit inside? maybe? maybe not?)  
> But, until next time!


	55. Fifteen Years: A brief moment of solace

The past few months have been a complete blur to you. Things seemed to be going at such a fast pace but also seemed so slow. You were going through the motions every day, not remembering what you did in the past ten minutes. Angela was worried about you mental health, you had kept yourself locked up in your room, only going out to grab some food. Jack and Gabriel have tried talking to you but you never gave them the chance. Everything was changing and you weren't sure if it was for the better. It sure didn't feel like it. You lost the man you thought was your father. The world was at war, poverty and death accompanying it. It didn't seem like things were going to get better and you honestly didn't care. It was around two in the morning when you left your room to grab some food. The hunger swelling in your stomach made you reluctantly leave the confines of your room. Before you made it to the cafeteria you were suddenly pulled into the training room with a harsh tug on your arm. You eyes widened at the sudden movement and your body went into overdrive. You quickly yanked your arm free from your perpetrator and ducked down to swing low at their legs, but was stopped when their arm went to grab for your leg pulling it upwards making you stumble and fall. You feel the world around you shift and turn upside down. You blink rapidly to try and get rid of the starts that clouded your vision and was let with the view of black baggy pants and beaten up combat boots. Your eyes glared at the boots and your crossed your arms on your chest letting out an annoyed huff.

 

"You really are testing my patience as of late."

 

You don't say anything when you hear the familiar voice of Gabriel speak from above you. You feel the blood starting to rush to your head but ignored the feeling and opted to remain silent.

 

"You have anything to say for yourself, brat."

 

You squeezed your eyes closed in frustration but still didn't give him an answer. A displeased sigh left Gabriel's lips before he dropped you to the ground making you grunt with pain. You curled up on the floor, clutching your now sore head and prayed that if you stayed like that he would eventually go away. A couple minutes passed before you slowly got into sitting position, looking off the side not to meet his gaze.

 

"So?"

 

"...got nothing to say to you."

 

Gabriel's frown grew deeper as his eyes watched your form shift from side to side in discomfort. He kneeled down in front of you his frown softening when he saw your eyes getting glossy. He reached for you silently bringing you into his arms causing you to stiffen and let out a slow breath.

 

Strong arms wrapped around your body making you freeze from the sudden contact but you relaxed in his hold slowly. Your eyes started to water and as hard as you tired to fight away the tears they stubbornly left your eyes. A small hiccup left your lips unwillingly as your arms grabbed onto the back of his shirt.

 

"He-he left me-!"

 

A low wail followed after your sniff, "How could he le-leave me like that? I thought he l-loved me Rey Rey-!"

 

Gabriel stayed quiet the entire time you cried knowing that no words of comfort would be comforting to you in this time. He just held you tighter bringing you closer to him, you cries grew louder as his shirt began to become wet with your tears. His eyes hardened with a new resolve as you clutched onto him stronger than before and as you whimpered out.

 

_"Please don't leave me too..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *airhorns* did y'all see how I changed the chapters?!  
> ARE YOU READY FOR THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!?
> 
> Sorry for the last chapter, It made me hurt so bad to see all of your comments, all of you were hurting so hard.  
> I apologize.
> 
> The end is neaaaaaarrrrrr.
> 
> And I honestly can not waiiiittt
> 
> Until next time!!
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


	56. Fifteen Years: Fighter

 

Your ears were ringing, head pounding with pain as you tried your best to run away from all the commotion.

 

_Fear._

It hurts, everything hurts. But you knew you had to get further away from all this.

 

_Pain._

What had happened? You don't remember the details. You can only remember the screams then a loud explosion.

 

_Alone._

You're alone. Where were you exactly? Hazy eyes stared at the wreckage around you. You see bodies litter the floor, the familiar faces you once knew now dead. Were you lucky to be alive? Were you supposed to feel relieved?

 

_What was happening?_

 

 

Like the days before you had done your normal routine, wake up stay in bed and stare at the ceiling for a couple hours, shower and then go get some food only to return to your room to stare blankly into nothingness. You mind was hazy and you don't remember half of the things you were doing. After Jesse leaving you, you decided to pack away all the things that reminded you of him into one of your backpacks out of spite. You didn't want to reminded of him, but everything in your room took you back to a time where things were better. You had thought to throw out everything he had given you but somewhere deep down stopped you from doing so. So into a bag they went. The holopad full of memories, the stuffed toys he had bought for you, the boomerang he got you for your birthday all those years ago. The locket-

 

Your hand went to the metal that hung around your neck. The locket, you'd keep that for now. Furrowing your brow you grabbed some things around your room and stuffed it in your bag, papers from Winston, a med kit Angela gave you and some an old picture album from earlier years. You deemed them a waste of space and were going to throw it deep inside your closet, never to be seen again and forgotten. Heaving the bag on your shoulders you walked over to the closet to toss it inside but was stopped when you hear the high pitch noise of the alarm going off. You froze and saw the emergency light in your room turn red making you snap your head to the holopad on your desk which had the message for an evacuation pop up.

 

"What the fu-!"

 

A loud explosion cut you off as you fell to the ground, feeling a burn on your right shoulder causing you to scream out in pain. Something was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong. Your eyes opened taking in your surroundings; half of your room was gone, it looked like someone set it on fire then smashed it. Struggling to get up you hefted the bag that was still on your back with some difficulty, wincing when it touched your burned shoulder. You quickly scanned your surroundings as your eyes landed on your bedside desk. You ran towards it opening it and grabbing the utility belt you had for training and shoving some knives, daggers you customized and a pistol through the loops. You had to get out of here, your legs took you towards your door that was sealed shut. With a loud grunt you kicked it a couple times causing it to open enough for you to squeeze through. When you went into the halls your eyes went wide and face paled. You slapped your hand to your mouth in attempts to stop the upcoming vomit from leaving your lips. Bodies, there were so _many_ bodies. Squeezing your eyes shut you took a couple seconds to gather yourself before swallowing harshly and making your way to the nearest exit. Your eyes grew redder and vision blurred with every body you passed in the hallway, muttering the deceased names as you said a silent prayer in your head for them. Were there any survivors? Should you look, or get out? Mind reeling you started to think of a way to find survivors but that plan was changed when you hear another explosion erupt from behind you. A scared wail left you lips as you tripped on one of the bodies and started to run in the opposite direction. You had to get out of here, you had to get out _alive._

 

 

 

 

_Jesse! Jesse! Where are you?! Why aren't you here when I need you the most!?_

You screamed when you see the familiar faces of your friends and the people you once knew.

 

_Get out. Get out. Get out._

It felt like you were running forever until you found a place to escape. It was a large whole which used to be the closed off doors of the entrance to the outside. With a heaving breath you ran towards it and stopped abruptly when you see omnics around the area.

 

_I'm going to die. I'm going to die here, alone. All alone._ Tears filled your eyes once more as you hid behind a broken slab of wall. There was nothing you could do, there were too many of them and even if you were able to escape how would you live on your own? Your eyes shut with fear.

 

_Jesse-!_

 

 

A scream snapped you out of your crazed stupor. You slowly peeked your head from the wall you were hiding behind and see a small group of three civilians backing away from an omnic.

 

"S-Stay away! Don't come any closer!" you see a child being grabbed by the person who looked no older than ten start to run in attempts to get them away from the machines and another man holding a broken metal pole in his hands trying to fend them off.

 

"D-daddy!" the child yelled out as the omnic shot at the man holding the pole, a  garbled cry left his lips before he fell to the ground blood staining from underneath him.

 

"No! Daddy no! We have to go back and help him!" the  boy with the child in his arms ignored him and continued to run farther away from the omnic in desperate attempt to get away. The child cried helplessly as he reached an arm out towards their dead father.

 

**_"We can't leave him!"_ **

 

 

 

_I promise I'll never leave you._

 

Your eyes stared at the dead man the childs crying voice ringing in your ears. You feel you body shake with frustration and anger.

 

 

 

_You lied._

 

 

 

Hands reached into your belt pulling out a dagger.

 

 

 

 

_You **lied** to me._

Unknown to you, you had gotten out from behind the place you were hiding behind and started walking towards the omnic that was aiming for the boy and the child trying to escape.

 

 

 

 

_How could I have been so foolish?_

_I'm so proud of you._

You began to run towards the omnics, eyes full of rage as you let out a cry of despair and stabbed the machine in one of its arms that was held up to shoot at the kids.

 

_My one and only darlin', [Name]_

 

An anguished cry left your lips as you grabbed the gun from your belt and shot the machine where its head would have been causing it to fizzle before grabbing its other arm and ripping it off with loud grunt. It fell to the ground useless and unmoving. It attracted more attention to you, more omnics began to come towards you. You threw the severed arm of the robot on the ground, wiping your face from the sweat that had been running down it and glared at the robots.

 

 

 

 

_I love you so much._

 

A scream of pure hatred left your lips, **"You lied to me!"**

****

****

Dropping the bag from your back you pulled out another dagger from your belt holding two in your hands and got into fighting position as the omnics closed in on you. The omnics leapt towards you, guns shooting and robotic arms swinging. You tapped the two daggers twice against each other making them light up with a blue glow as they cracked to life. High voltages of electricity passed bwtween them and lit up with life as you ran towards the machines, bobbing and weaving; slicing off their arms and legs before sending them an electric shock with the daggers.

 

 

 

**"You _bastard_!"**

You stabbed one that was at your side causing a high voltage of electrical currents to pass through its system, ignoring smell of your burning flesh and blood falling from your hands. The last robot fell to the ground with a dull thud, the adrenaline was still running through your veins but you still didn't forget the two civilians.

 

 

A soft cry was heard from the child and an uneasy whisper escaped the other one.

 

 

_"...[Name]?"_

 

 

You turn to look at the children who were on the ground crying from shock and fear, the familiar face made you smile sadly.

 

 

 

"Wally."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! This is the end!
> 
> I want to thank everyone who have been with be since the beginning, the middle and the end!  
> This was a wild roller coaster of emotions. From being a baby to developing into a young mature teen.  
> Memories were made, promises were made and broken. Hearts were filled then cut open.  
> Tears, blood were shed and all for the sake of you the reader!
> 
> I really had no idea how far this story would go when I first started it, it really just started out as a drabble for me to get things off of my chest but it then spiraled into something so much bigger. I poured a lot of my heart and emotions into this story and before i knew it it blossomed into something I was proud of.
> 
> I didn't even notice that this was basically about a child that had grown up with a loving father figure they had grown to love and trust but then was suddenly left by themselves with no real explanation. I had unconsciously been writing about my experience with my own father and it fit so well with the story and the characters.
> 
> I know there are so many questions left unanswered, like what happened to Gabriel and the others. Will they see reader or will they just go off on their own? I promise all those questions will be answered in due time!
> 
> Reader has been through so much, and I'd hate to end it here for them.  
> They need time to heal just like any other human and they will get their chance.  
> The road to healing is not something that comes easy and it takes a lot of patience and perseverance to get over so many traumatic events they have been through.  
> The path to healing and forgiveness is a rough one, but I hope you will all join me and help the Reader to heal!
> 
> I will see you in the sequel!  
> Thank you all so much again!
> 
> Until next time!!

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey! Thanks for stumbling on this little story!  
> I hope you enjoyed reading! I shouldn't be starting a new story when I haven't even finished all my other ones... *sweats*  
> Anyways, I have no idea where this is going really... Maybe there will be a plot later on?  
> But for right now I just want to have fun with it!  
> Lemme know if y'all liked it!  
> See you in the next chapter!


End file.
